Shuttle’s Water Damage Is ‘Minimal’

Water damage to Columbia is less than originally thought, and the shuttle has a good chance to meet its December launch target, the director of the Kennedy Space Center said Tuesday.

“It certainly does not have the dimensions of doom we were concerned about” after fire protection water drenched Columbia on Sunday, Forrest McCartney said in an interview.

“We’ve not really assessed what the impact will be on the launch date, but my personal assessment on it right now is that it will be minimal, if any,” he said.

The accident occurred as workers were performing maintenance on the fire sprinkler system in the hangar where Columbia is being readied for a Dec. 18 launch.

Thomas Utsman, deputy director of the space center and head of the inquiry team, said Monday that as many as 200 of the shuttle’s 500 woven fiberglass heat shields might have been damaged by the soaking and might have to be replaced. But McCartney said Tuesday the number was closer to 70 or 80 and that most of them were off the shuttle, sitting to the side on racks.

“I’m chalking it up to a combination of equipment error and human error,” Utsman said.