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| Science & Technology |
| NASA Report: Columbia Astronauts Killed in Seconds |
| 2008-12-30 |
| The seven astronauts killed during the 2003 loss of NASA's space shuttle Columbia survived less than a minute after their spacecraft began breaking apart, according to a new report released Tuesday that suggests changes to astronaut training and spacecraft cabin design. The 400-page "Columbia Crew Survivability Report" released today states that Columbia's ill-fated crew had a period of just 40 seconds between the loss of control of their spacecraft and its lethal depressurization in which to act on Feb. 1, 2003. The crew's response was hampered by delays in donning their re-entry pressure suits, which ultimately would not have saved them during the searing plunge into the atmosphere anyway. "The Columbia depressurization event occurred so rapidly that the crew members were incapacitated within seconds, before they could configure the suit for full protection from loss of cabin pressure," the report states. "Although circulatory systems functioned for a brief time, the effects of the depressurization were severe enough that the crew could not have regained consciousness. This event was lethal to the crew." One of Columbia's STS-107 crew members was not wearing a pressure suit helmet and three astronauts had not put on their spacesuit gloves, according to the report. At no point did crew error contribute to the loss of Columbia, which was not a survivable event, the report states. The design of Columbia's seats, too, decreased the crew's chances of survival as their restraints did not lock in place, subjecting the astronauts to extreme trauma from rotational forces. Their helmets were not head-conforming, resulting in injuries and lethal trauma, the report states. The new report calls for enhanced astronaut training to help spacecraft crews transition from emergency response to survival mode. It also recommends that NASA design the seats and pressure suits for future spacecraft with loss of vehicle control in mind. Current astronaut pressure suits, for example, require astronauts to manually deploy their parachute during an emergency escape. Modifying the system to deploy automatically would increase an unconscious astronaut's chances if they survived a spacecraft's catastrophic descent. Columbia broke apart during reentry while returning to Earth after a 16-day science mission. Investigators later found that a piece of shuttle fuel tank foam insulation punched a hole in the heat shielding that lined Columbia's left wing edge during its Jan. 16 launch. The damage allowed superheated atmospheric gases to penetrate the spacecraft's wing during re-entry, destroying the shuttle and killing the crew 16 minutes before their planned landing. Once the spacecraft's cabin began breaking apart, Columbia's crew had no protection against the searing heat of re-entry outside, the report states, adding that the bright orange pressure suits could not withstand such conditions. "The ascent and entry suit had no performance requirements for occupant protection from thermal events," the report states. "The only known complete protection from this event would be to prevent its occurrence." |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #6 SpaceX - the future. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-12-30 17:49 |
| #5 Sometimes seconds can be very long indeed. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-12-30 17:36 |
| #4 Won't make a damn where you plan to buy it. By the time we dig our way out of this Bailout debt we won't have enuf for METRO fare from L'Enfant Plaza to the Pentagon. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-30 16:41 |
| #3 Oh sure, then we can buy the follow on to the Shuttle from Airbus? no way! just resurrect NASA as it was originally chartered and we will be OK. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2008-12-30 16:17 |
| #2 Quite honestly, I hope this is one of the programs The Messiah decides to whack or simply transfer the functions and responsibilities to the USAF. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-30 15:57 |
| #1 Why has it taken 5 years to figure this out??? Most of this just seems like common sense. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2008-12-30 14:10 |