I saw the news today, Oh Boy... :(
Jul. 7th, 2003 11:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unclejimboNASA showed the results from a test to determine the cause of the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
They fired a 25 lbs piece of foam insulation, like what is on the external tank into a mock up of the shuttle's wing. This material isn't the fragile tiles we've heard so much about over the years, but the stronger material covering the nose and leading edges of the wings. Heavier, stronger, more durable.
The foam blew a 16 inch hole in the stuff. A crack, as thin as a dime on edge would have been enough to compromise the wing and destroy the shuttle... That the Columbia held together as long as it did with this fricking hole in it's wing is just amazing... The damn thing could have come apart at any time during the reentry.
And the worst part is that the foam would have stayed put if they only painted the external tank like they did during the first 2 shuttle flights. They decided to stop painting them to save money and to lighten the tank to let the shuttle carry more payload.
7 people died due to the lack of paint... Ain't that just a bitch!
They fired a 25 lbs piece of foam insulation, like what is on the external tank into a mock up of the shuttle's wing. This material isn't the fragile tiles we've heard so much about over the years, but the stronger material covering the nose and leading edges of the wings. Heavier, stronger, more durable.
The foam blew a 16 inch hole in the stuff. A crack, as thin as a dime on edge would have been enough to compromise the wing and destroy the shuttle... That the Columbia held together as long as it did with this fricking hole in it's wing is just amazing... The damn thing could have come apart at any time during the reentry.
And the worst part is that the foam would have stayed put if they only painted the external tank like they did during the first 2 shuttle flights. They decided to stop painting them to save money and to lighten the tank to let the shuttle carry more payload.
7 people died due to the lack of paint... Ain't that just a bitch!
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no subject
Date: 2003-07-08 12:38 am (UTC)New York Times
Date: 2003-07-11 12:48 am (UTC)First off, I've heard about straw that has pierced wood in a hurricane. Get anything going at a good velocity and no matter what it's made of, it will go through something 20+ times stronger.
Numerous investigations of previous incidences where foam hit the wing indicated that this was a serious flaw in the aircraft's design. In fact, it was the most serious thing in the file, and it was concluded that exactly that accident could happen. Many proposals had been submitted to solve the problem. However, with NASA's budget being cut and foam hitting the wings multiple times without causing a problem, NASA decided that this was not priority. Why fix it? So far there's no proof that there's really anything wrong.
After the hole was blown in the wing, heated gases got inside the wing, which is what ultimately did it in.
Of course, it's really a shame that the proof NASA needed that the foam problem would have to be fixed had to cost the lives of those people.