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| Shuttle Foam Test Yields Hole in Wing |
| 2003-07-07 |
| The team investigating the Columbia disaster fired a chunk of foam insulation at shuttle wing parts Monday and blew open a gaping 2-foot hole, offering dramatic evidence to support the theory of what doomed the spaceship. The foam struck roughly the same spot where insulation that broke off Columbia's big external fuel tank during launch smashed into the shuttle's wing. Investigators believe the damage led to the ship's destruction during re-entry over Texas in February, killing all seven astronauts. It was the seventh and final foam-impact test by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and it yielded by far the most severe damage. Note that NASA had never tested the shuttle before to see if it would be damaged by anything falling off the fuel tank during launch. The 1.67-pound piece of fuel tank foam insulation shot out of a 35-foot nitrogen-pressurized gun and slammed into a carbon-reinforced panel removed from shuttle Atlantis. The "bird gun" used to test aircraft windshields,etc, to see if they can survive bird strikes. The countdown boomed through loudspeakers, and the crack of the foam coming out at more than 500 mph reverberated in the field where the test was conducted. Twelve high-speed cameras — six inside the wing mock-up and six outside — captured the event. Hundreds of sensors registered movements, stresses and other conditions. NASA will continue gathering more information about the poorly understood pieces that line the vulnerable leading edges of shuttle wings, board member Scott Hubbard said. Poorly understood? After flying them for how many years? One month ago, another carbon shuttle wing panel — smaller and farther inboard — was cracked by the impact, in addition to an adjoining seal. This time, the entire 11 1/2-inch width of the foam chunk — rather than just a corner during previous tests — hit the wing, putting maximum stress on the suspect area. Can we expect anyone at NASA to lose their jobs? Nah! |
| Posted by:Steve |