Churchill Science

During yesterday’s launch, the space shuttle suffered some damage. Some foam tiles, which protect the shuttle from burning up when it enters Earth’s atmosphere, have fallen off or were scuffed. So far, as this news report says, NASA doesn’t know how much damage there is. There are also different options for fixing the damage if it turns out to be a big problem.

Try rubbing your hands together very fast – you can feel the heat building up. This is what happens when a flying object like a spaceship lands on a planet or moon with an atmosphere. The ship rubs against the air in the atmosphere and a LOT of heat is built up. This is because of a force called friction. It’s super-important to have a heat shield so that the ship won’t burn up. A few years ago, the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed because of damage to its heat shield.

After a month of delays, the space shuttle is on its way to the International Space Station. First there were technical problems, then weather delays, including lightning strikes on the launch pad. The shuttle is delivering a module for the station.

Space Shuttle Atlantis had to land in California, two days late, after bad weather in Florida prevented it from landing as originally planned.