Sometimes it is the littlest things that cause engineers the most consternation. Take the small gap fillers that fill the spaces between the thermal tiles on the belly of the Space Shuttle. When two of them began to protrude during last July's Shuttle flight, raising concerns that they would cause hot spots on the thermal protection system (TPS) during reentry, mission managers called for an unprecedented and unpracticed space-walk to remove the fillers.
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