Launchpad Damaged During Saturday's Shuttle Launch

Debris falls into the water during Discovery's launch on Saturday. Image from CBS Space Place.

The launchpad at Kennedy Space Center was damaged during Saturday's space shuttle launch. Pictures taken during Discovery's launch show debris raining down into the waterway just behind launchpad 39A. Additional images show debris that appears to be broken concrete littering a nearby road as well as damaged and buckled concrete on one side of the launchpad. CBS News' Bill Harwood reported that the damage to the pad occured on the north side of the "flame trench" wall. The trench is used to divert exhaust from the shuttle's solid rocket boosters.

The damage is "unusual," Harwood quoted NASA spokesman Bill Johnson, who verified the damage was serious and tomorrow (Monday) a full report on the incident will be issued. Harwood also reported that a NASA manager said part of the pad's base was repaired following a previous launch, but possibly something was either missed or not repaired correctly.

The debris appears to come from the lauchpad itself, and not the shuttle. However, the astronauts on board Discovery have not yet been able to conduct the usual inspection of the shuttle nose cap and wing leading edge panels because the 50-foot-long boom equipped with laser scanners and high-resolution cameras was unable to fit into the shuttle's payload bay due to the large size of the Japanese Kibo laboratory that Discovery is bringing to the International Space Station. The last shuttle crew left the orbiter boom sensor system at the ISS, and the crew of Discovery will retrieve it while docked to the station. ISS crew members will take high resolution pictures of the shuttle as it approaches the station on Monday.

Both launchpads at KSC, 39A and 39B were originally built for the Apollo spacecraft/Saturn rockets and were modified for the space shuttles. During launches the pads must withstand both high heat and extreme pressure.

Original News Source: CBS Space Place