NASA wrestled Monday with whether to try a Fourth of July space shuttle liftoff after the startling discovery of a small chunk of foam insulation that broke off Discovery's fuel tank as it sat on the launch pad. The troubling find came after inspectors discovered a 5-inch-long crack in the foam _ a problem that continues to vex NASA ever since a big piece of foam brought down Columbia and killed seven astronauts in 2003.
NASA managers were meeting Monday evening to decide how to tackle the problem and whether a Tuesday launch was possible.
At least one member of the panel of experts that investigated the Columbia accident said he was nervous about the decision.
"If those guys aren't more nervous than I am, they've become jaded and should resign their positions," said Nobel Prize-winning physicist Douglas Osheroff. But two of Osheroff's accident board colleagues said they were comfortable, with board chairman Harold Gehman Jr. saying, "It looks to me like they are following the right decision processes."
NASA managers are leaning toward flying Discovery with no changes to the foam section in question, said John Chapman, external tank project manager.
