Conference 7.286::space

    re .0
    
    Bird ingestion is a problem for jet engines in general. I don't know whether
    this has ever affected any space bound operations.

According to Radio 4 news this morning a woodpecker has been trying to 
attract a mate at the launch pad.  It appears that it has not been very 
successful and has made 79 holes in the foam cover which insulates the fuel 
tank.  They have introduced stuffed animals & sound devices to scare the bird 
away.

cpj

    Our local cable educational access channel switched from broadcasting
    SCOLA back to broadcasting NASA Select, and last night NASA Select
    had some video footage showing a woodpecker pecking away at the
    external tank insulation up in the area near the top cone section
    near where it starts to go from the vertical slope of the side of the
    external tank to where it slopes up to the peak. The video showed
    several areas where the woodpecker had already done some damage.
    It also showed some footage down in the area of the lower section of
    one of the solid rocket boosters where the insulation that divides
    the solid fuel sections, and there appeared to also be some very minor
    "pecking" done on this insulation material too. The video showed some
    stuffed owls mounted in view which might help scare away the
    woodpeckers. A couple of workers were shown up on the scaffolding with
    air horns and any time a woodpecker would get near the external tank
    they would blow the air horn. It's apparently the mating season for
    woodpeckers (and obviously birds in general), and this particular
    woodpecker (they didn't show more than one lonely male woodpecker),
    apparently is desparately trying to influence a near-by female with
    his creative proficiency at making holes for nests in an artificial
    material rather than the mundane use of wood (this woodpecker obviously
    knows that wood eventually rots, and that a synthetic foam material
    is far superior in lasting quality). What the woodpecker apparently
    doesn't know yet is that his potential new-found nest site isn't what 
    one would call a permanent structure. :-)
    
    Bob

I thought woodpeckers pecked to find insects for food.  If so, this guy is not
being a very good provider for a potential family:-)

Has anyone heard if they think they will need to repair it?

Burns

    There have been animal problems in the past. I think the Cape is some
    sort of protected wilderness so they are limited in how they can deal
    with critters.
    
    One of the reasons Cape Canaveral was originally chosen for missile
    trials was that the snakes, crocs, scorpions etc provide a degree of
    natural security.
    
    gary

    <------ re: .4 
    
       Yep, you're right Burns, woodpeckers store/find food by pecking
    for it, but they also build their nets in the trunks of suitable
    trees which are of "peck-able" vintage (read that tomean trees
    which are dead or on their way to same). So a male woodpecker in
    its brightly colored plumage, pecking away at building a home
    is apparently seen as an attractive mate for a female woodpecker.
    Obviously, this male woodpecker at the launch site sees this challenge
    of pecking at the external tank as the "ultimate" virility test for
    finding a mate. :-)
      As far as repairing, they said that one of the problems is that
    they cannot get at all the places that would need repair because the
    gantry platforms don't get out that far/high. The news reports I've
    heard have said that they are definitely going to have to patch these
    (or at least the worst of them), but they haven't publicly stated
    a time frame to get this done, other than the statement to the media
    that it may delay things.
      One of the things I haven't heard is whether both launch areas are
    experiencing this. I've only heard/seen that it is the STS-70 launch
    site that is being bothered by woodpeckers.
    
    Bob

    Also forgot to mention that yes, the cape area is an official 
    wilderness sanctuary. There are apparently even some American
    bald eagles nesting in the sanctuary. I recall seeing some
    NASA Select footage some time last summer, where NASA, with the
    help of the Park Services Rangers, had set up a blind in a nearby
    tree, installed a video camera to tape footage of a pair of eagles 
    building their nest and caring for a couple of young chicks as they
    developed and started to practice getting ready to fly.
    
    Bob