On Oct. 7, 2002, the area shuttle bus Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-112. This objective brought the Starboard 1 (S1) truss sector to the International Space Station.The S1 truss belongs to the backbone of the spaceport station, and it provides structural support for the thermal control system. NASAs space shuttle bus Atlantis introduces the STS-112 building and construction objective to the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Centers Pad 39B in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Oct. 7, 2002. (Image credit: NASA) During the launch, a chunk of insulating foam broke off of the external tank and struck the bottom of the rocket booster, leaving a huge damage. Thankfully this didnt position any problems for STS-112, but this was the very same thing that caused the Columbia shuttle catastrophe simply three months later on. NASA later upgraded the shuttle to prevent this problem.Catch up on our entire “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist. On This Day in Space Archive! Still inadequate space? Do not forget to have a look at our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week. Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook..
