NASA said Wednesday it was checking the space shuttle Discovery for possible damage from a metal tool dropped during repair work at the Florida launch pad.
The accident happened late Tuesday as technicians were replacing a leaky seal on a hydrogen gas vent on the shuttle's external fuel tank.
Workers were on a catwalk high above Cape Canaveral's Launch Pad 39A when a tool known as a feeler gauge — 13 strips of metal each as wide as a piece of paper held together by a screw — came apart, NASA said.
No one was injured by the falling metal strips, NASA spokeswoman Candrea Thompson told SPACE.com.
Shuttle workers inspected the spacecraft and its fuel tank overnight after the incident, then again during daylight hours Wednesday.
"They'll look at exactly every inch of the orbiter and the external tank to make sure it's safe and good to go for the Feb. 24 launch," Thompson said.
The hydrogen gas vent seal on the fuel tank was being replaced for the second time after it failed a test, NASA said.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
