Possible Shuttle Foam Strike Worries NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Fox News) — NASA engineers will pay close attention as the space shuttle Endeavour maneuvers toward the international space station on Friday as they try to determine whether foam insulation that broke off the fuel tank damaged the ship.

On Thursday, schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan and other members of Endeavour's crew conducted a fastidious inspection of the shuttle's most vulnerable areas, in a search for possible damage.

Nine pieces of foam insulation broke off Endeavour's fuel tank during liftoff Wednesday evening, and three pieces appeared to strike the shuttle, said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team.

None is believed to have been big enough to cause critical damage, he said.