Safe Landing!

[krpalmer]

Stuck at work with no Internet access, I got my first update on the landing of space shuttle Endeavour by carrying my portable radio up to the window frame, where I get the best reception. I had spent a lot of time worrying about the dent found knocked in the heat shield, even as the news sources I do follow about space missions (such as the Bad Astronomy weblog) reported on the testing being done until it seemed that the problem wasn't that serious after all, and yet I did keep wondering "What if..." In retrospect, though, while going out and trying to fill in the hole could have been an opportunity to be seen doing something proactive, it might well have added to the impression that the space shuttle is so fragile nowadays it really shouldn't be flying at all. (As well, Canadian astronaut Dave Williams did set the new record for spacewalks by a Canadian astronaut anyway.) In any case, some pictures of the dent were taken right after landing, and they look quite unaffected to me.