Analysts are still studying whether the two strips of cloth called gap filler that are poking out from the bottom of the orbiter could cause uneven heating during re-entry that may constitute a threat to the craft and crew, the mission\'s lead flight director, Paul Hill, said in a press briefing this morning. If the analysts decide that the gap fillers do pose a threat, he said, the mission manager may call for a risky spacewalk and repair maneuver in which astronauts try to pull the tough material the rest of the way out, push it in or cut it off.
Mr. Hill said a spacewalk repair was not likely but that his engineers and analysts were looking closely at the issue and that he could not rule one out.
Gap fillers, as their name implies, fill the gaps that NASA leaves between some shuttle tiles to allow for expansion and contraction of the shuttle\'s body from the extremes of heat and cold that it is exposed to. The fillers themselves are heat resistant, and are made of......
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