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NASA uses small camera to eyeball foamBy Marsha Walton  A tiny camera threaded through tubing lets technicians inspect the crack in Discovery's foam insulation. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) -- Technicians called on to inspect a pencil-size crack in the foam insulation of the space shuttle Discovery came up with a novel way to get to the site of the fissure. The team decided to use a tiny camera threaded through tubing to reach the area of concern without the need to build a platform. A tool known as a borescope allowed a visual inspection of the crack, which covers a bracket connecting the liquid oxygen feed line to Discovery's external fuel tank. (Watch how NASA decided the shuttle was good to go -- 1:50) Discovery is scheduled to lift off at 2:38 p.m. ET Tuesday. The launch, already scrubbed twice due to bad weather, was threatened a third time Monday after an inspection found a 4- to 5-inch crack in the external fuel tank's foam insulation. (Full story) "The shedding that was observed here comes off as a result of expanding and contracting the fuel tank as it is loaded with fuel," NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said Tuesday. He added, "The foam which can come off has come off. If it had come off in flight, it would be no issue." Engineers believe the problem stemmed from a buildup of frozen condensation that crushed a small piece of foam, according to a NASA official. Griffin praised the technicians' creativity in the inspection, saying the camera's view was better than if someone had gone up on scaffolding to look at the tank. "They came up with an idea that was more clever than if they got on it [the tank]," Griffin said. "They were happy with themselves, and we were happy with them." Engineers gave the technicians -- called the Micro Inspection Team -- an idea of what they should look for, and they took about 20 views of the area in question, from about 6 inches to about 2 feet away. They looked for loose foam and any additional cracks and did not see any debris. "It looked fairly clean," said Jeff Rowell, a member of the 13-person team. Three members of the team showed off the borescope Tuesday morning at the NASA press site. Rowell said it had been in operation for several years to examine fuel lines, ducting, "anything you can't put an eyeball on." The flexible tubing is about 6 feet long. When combined with the reach of an operator's arm, it extended about 8 feet to reach the area in question. The Micro Inspection Team is part of United Space Alliance, a prime NASA contractor for the space shuttle. 
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