Some foam flies off space shuttle’s fuel tank; inspection underway

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - Astronauts are inspecting space
shuttle Endeavour for launch damage as they race toward a 200-mile
high rendezvous with the International Space Station.
    The crew was using a 100-foot, laser-tipped boom early Tuesday
to check the thermal shielding on the wings and nose.
    Some foam insulation broke off the fuel tank during Monday
morning’s launch, but there was no indication anything hit the
shuttle. A foam strike brought down Columbia in 2003.
    The five space station residents are excitedly awaiting the
crew. In a Twitter update, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi says,
“Yeah! Endeavour is on our way!“
    Endeavour is delivering a new room to the space station, as well
a domed compartment that contains the biggest window ever launched.