Aihnss.144
net.columbia
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!mhtsa!ihnss!karn
Tue Sep 22 15:16:46 1981
Propellant Loading Accident
 a PM-Shuttle 3rdLd-Writethru a0521 09-22 0418
^PM-Shuttle, 3rd Ld - Writethru, a0521,380<
^URGENT<
^EDS: Leads with 8 grafs on up to 200 tiles loose. Picks up 6th
graf pvs.<
	   CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ Highly toxic fuel spilled while
being loaded into the space shuttle Columbia's thruster rockets
early today, loosening as many as 200 of the spacecraft's
protective tiles and raising the possibility of a delay in its
second mission.
	   ``The tiles are actually falling off the vehicle,'' said a NASA
source in Washington. ``It is going to affect an area larger than
originally estimated, maybe as many as 200 tiles.'' The ship has
more than 30,000 tiles to protect it from the heat of re-entry.
	   No injuries were reported when a ``quick-disconnect'' fuel line
connector malfunctioned about 1:15 a.m. while technicians were
loading nitrogen tetroxide. The NASA source, who asked not to be
identified, said about three to four gallons of the toxic fuel
spilled down the starboard side.
	   The nitrogen tetroxide destroys or eats out the bonding
material, the NASA source said. A damage assessment team was able
to enter the area about 10 a.m. and it was expected to be many
hours before the estimate would be made.
	   The area affected is directly under the crew cabin, just below
the fueling ports of the forward reaction control system. That
system is a cluster of small thrusters that steer the ship in orbit.
	   The fueling was in preparation for an Oct. 9 launch.
	   Jim Kukowski, a NASA spokesman in Washington, said earlier that
the initial estimate was that about 25 of the tiles were damaged
and would have to be replaced.
	   He said officials ``don't know yet'' if the tiles could be
replaced while the shuttle is on the launch pad. If not, the
shuttle might have to be returned to its hangar or the Vehicle
Assembly Building, which would almost certainly delay the launch,
officials said.
	   The spill forced the closing of the launch pad to all but
emergency cleanup workers.
	   ``It's pretty nasty stuff,'' Mark Hess, another space center
spokesman, said of the fuel.
	   Workers began Sunday pumping nitrogen tetroxide, an oxidizer,
into the two orbital engines' tanks. The oxidizer will then be
transferred into tanks in the Reaction Control System, which
contains the attitude-control thrusters.
	   Fuel tanks in both the orbital maneuvering system and the
reactor control system will then be filled with monomethyl
hydrazine.
	   If the process is completed this weekend as scheduled,
preparations will begin for the start of the launch countdown Oct.
5.
	   AP-PX-09-22 1212EDT<