1, 2003, after a piece of fuel-tank foam came off and punctured the left wing during liftoff 16 days earlier. Highlights of the NASA Glenn contributions to the impact testing are presented with emphasis on the use of high speed digital photography to document theses tests. BBC News reports on the 2003 space shuttle Columbia disaster. Columbia was destroyed during reentry on Feb. This paper summarizes the Columbia Accident and the nearly seven month long investigation that followed. Researchers at the NASA Glenn Ballistic Impact Laboratory have participated in several of the impact test programs supporting the Accident Investigation and Return-to-Flight efforts. Digital high-speed cameras were used extensively to document these tests as significant advances in recent years have nearly eliminated the use of film in many areas of testing.
Supporting this effort are many test programs to evaluate impact threats from various debris sources during ascent that must be completed for certifying the Shuttle system safe for flight. Following the accident investigation, NASA turned its focus to returning the Shuttle safely to flight. 1, 2003, when NASA’s space shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth, killing the seven astronauts on board. These tests ranged from fundamental material characterization tests to full-scale Orbiter Wing Leading Edge tests. The agency’s plans called for up to 15 missions, including the first flight from the West Coast launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Supporting the findings of the CAIB, were numerous ballistic impact testing programs conducted to investigate and quantify the physics of External Tank Foam impact on the RCC wing leading edge material. The ceremony highlighted the crew of Columbia for the 20th anniversary of the mission disaster that killed seven astronauts. NASA History 35 Years Ago: Remembering Challenger and Her Crew The year 1986 was shaping up to be the most ambitious one yet for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. During reentry, this breach allowed superheated air to penetrate behind the leading edge and erode the aluminum structure of the left wing which ultimately led to the breakup of the orbiter. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), a group of experts assembled to conduct an investigation independent of NASA concluded in August, 2003 that the cause of the loss of Columbia and its crew was a breach in the left wing leading edge Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) thermal protection system initiated by the impact of thermal insulating foam that had separated from the orbiters external fuel tank 81 seconds into that mission's launch. For the next several months an extensive investigation of the accident ensued involving a nationwide team of experts from NASA, industry, and academia, spanning dozens of technical disciplines. When Columbia reentered the atmosphere of Earth, the damage allowed hot atmospheric gases to penetrate the heat shield and destroy the internal wing structure, which caused the orbiter to become unstable and break apart.On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry resulting in loss of seven crewmembers and craft. Before reentry, NASA managers had limited the investigation, reasoning that the crew could not have fixed the problem if it had been confirmed. Similar foam shedding had occurred during previous Space Shuttle launches, causing damage that ranged from minor to near-catastrophic, but some engineers suspected that the damage to Columbia was more serious. It was the second Space Shuttle mission to end in disaster, after the Challenger disaster in 1986, which killed all seven crew members during ascent.ĭuring the STS-107 launch, a piece of the insulative foam broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the thermal protection system tiles on the orbiter's left wing. NASA managers dismissed the impact during the flight despite the concerns of others. 1, 2003, when NASA’s space shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth, killing the seven astronauts on board. The shuttle broke apart over Texas, just 16 minutes from its planned Florida touchdown. Bibliography The Columbia disaster occurred On Feb. During the STS-107 mission, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board. Columbia was destroyed during reentry on Feb. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal accident in the United States Space Shuttle program which occurred on February 1, 2003.
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