Teacher joins hunt for shuttle damage

Schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan helped operate a 100-foot robot arm and extension boom in a hunt for damage on her first full day in orbit, as NASA officials at Cape Canaveral said foam insulation may have hit the shuttle at launch.

Nine pieces of insulation broke off the fuel tank during liftoff Wednesday evening, and three pieces appeared to strike the shuttle, said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. None is believed to have been big enough to cause critical damage, he said.

Endeavour is to dock with the International Space Station today.