In orbit, meanwhile, Discovery's astronauts slowly and delicately inspected the wings and nose for launch damage, using a 100-foot movable arm with lasers and a camera mounted on its tip. NASA lead ...

A NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter re-enters the Earth's atmosphere at about 75 miles above sea level and speeds close to 17,500 mph. When slowing down to its landing speed of about 215 mph, the orbiter's ...

Now the failure of the tiles is a leading theory for the catastrophic end of Columbia. NASA struggled for years in trying to ensure that the tiles were firmly attached to the shuttle, Paul Fischbeck, ...

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – A new space shuttle tile inspection method using NASA-built, wireless scanners is replacing manual inspection. The new process begins with the upcoming shuttle mission, STS-118 ...

The New York and Los Angeles homes for two of NASA's space shuttles want to put your name in lights — actually on heat shield tiles and stars — in return for your help funding the construction of new ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A close-up laser inspection by Endeavour's astronauts yesterday revealed that a 3½-inch-long gouge penetrates all the way through the thermal shielding on the shuttle's belly.

HYTHIRM Principal Investigator: Tom Horvath: “The Hypersonic Thermodynamic InfraRed Measurements (HYTHIRM) team, based at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., was again successful in ...

Click to open image viewer. Strips of ceramic insulation fabric like this were inserted between thermal protection tiles on the Space Shuttle as a barrier to heat and airflow. This particular tile gap ...