Aresearch.59
net.columbia
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!mhtsa!harpo!research!sjb
Wed Sep 23 20:21:06 1981
fuel spill
Up to 200 tiles have now been removed from the shuttle's
exterior.  Some came off by themselves, some were pulled
off by technicians, and others were removed to test the
effects of the nitrogen tetroxide fuel spilled on the
orbiter on Tuesday.  The silica tiles were not eaten away
by the resulting acid, but the super-glue holding them
was.  They will be cleaned, decontaminated, waterproofed,
and then reinstalled.  A visual inspection of the shuttle's
external fuel tank showed no damage.

As the cleanup is on, all other work around the pad has
stopped.