I noticed the article predates the Columbia disaster by a couple of months. The device described in the article sounds similar to the one they've been using the past few days to shoot pieces of foam insulation at one of the Discovery's wings. At any rate, silly as the device may sound, bird impacts are a serious aviation hazard, serious enough that some airports have experimented with having predators prowl the airport to keep out geese and other larger birds that might endanger aircraft.
Yo, Badger!
I noticed the article predates the Columbia disaster by a couple of months. The device described in the article sounds similar to the one they've been using the past few days to shoot pieces of foam insulation at one of the Discovery's wings. At any rate, silly as the device may sound, bird impacts are a serious aviation hazard, serious enough that some airports have experimented with having predators prowl the airport to keep out geese and other larger birds that might endanger aircraft.