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Astronauts take first of four planned space walks

Extension of stay caused by need to repair thermal blanket

Houston: Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts will spend an extra couple of days in space to fix a thermal blanket near the shuttle's tail that peeled off during its launch.

Experts do not believe the gap would pose any threat to the astronauts, but it could cause damage to the shuttle during its re-entry into the atmosphere. So, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) managers decided on Monday to extend Atlantis' mission to the International Space Station by two days.

Atlantis will bring back Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams home after her six-month space sojourn.

The decision to add a fourth space walk to the Atlantis crew's schedule to fix the thermal blanket on the shuttle's exterior will mean a mission of 13 days in space rather than the originally planned 11 days, said John Shannon, head of the mission management team at NASA.

The announcement came even as two Atlantis astronauts ventured out for the first space walk of the mission on Monday. The shuttle, which blasted off last Friday, was originally scheduled to return to earth on Tuesday next. No decision had been made on whether the loosened blanket, covering a 4-inch by-6-inch area over a pod for engines, will be repaired during a previously planned third spacewalk or a fourth, extra one, officials said. NASA has, however, played down concerns over the damage to Atlantis.

The loosened blanket was discovered on Saturday during an inspection of the shuttle.

Engineers think the blanket was loosened by aerodynamic forces during launch, not by being hit by a piece of debris during lift-off. The shuttle — on its first mission of the year — docked with the ISS on Sunday, after performing a dramatic backward somersault in space. Lift-off damage is a concern after the February 2003 shuttle disaster when the Columbia craft disintegrated as it returned to earth due to breaks in its heat shield.

— PTI

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