A piece of foam shot into a model of the shuttle wing caused a nut to loosen - the reason why the shuttle probably crashed
The head of the investigation team, yesterday. The data must be analyzed
In what could be a breakthrough in the investigation of the Space Shuttle Columbia crash, the investigation team discovered that foam that hit the model of the shuttle's fiberglass wing caused a nut to loosen. The researchers believe that this is the impact that occurred during takeoff and caused the shuttle to crash upon its return to Earth.
"We are not drawing any conclusions," said the spokesman for the investigative team, Woody Woodyard. "We need to analyze the data before we reach conclusions." However, said Woodyard, that the results of the experiment
held on Thursday are "important".
The investigation team suspects that a nut that was assembled on the front of the left wing of the Columbia was damaged after being hit by a piece of foam from the fuel tank. The fiberglass the model was made of is 2.5 times stronger than the carbon compound the real wing and nuts are made of, Woodyard said. For this reason the actual wing or gasket may have been damaged even more by the foam impact.
A breakthrough in the Columbia crash investigation
An experiment conducted by NASA experts last week proved that the piece of insulating foam that broke off from the fuel tank during takeoff and hit the body of the shuttle "Columbia" could have damaged one of the seals and led to a crash upon reentry into the atmosphere. The experiment is a significant breakthrough in the investigation of the circumstances of the "Columbia" crash at the beginning of February, because it establishes for the first time in a practical way the insulation foam theory and the fact that the damage to the shuttle was already caused during the launch.
The people of the American space agency built a model of a part of the shuttle in the laboratory and recreated the conditions in which the piece of insulation broke off and damaged the shuttle's body. They used the same material that was used to insulate the fuel tank and shot it towards the leading edge of the shuttle wing at the speed it would move towards it while cruising in space. The piece of insulation caused significant damage to the simulated wing - one of the seals near the place of impact moved from its place and caused an opening about 60 centimeters long in the body of the shuttle. The assumption of the researchers is that when the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere, hot gas penetrated through the hole created into the shuttle body and caused it to crash.
During the "Columbia's" stay in space, NASA personnel were aware of the detachment of the piece of foam and its impact on the wing, but they checked the possible consequences through calculations and computer simulations and came to the conclusion that the piece of insulation did not have the power to cause a hole in the shuttle shell. The new experiment proves that these calculations were wrong and they actually made the NASA people believe that there is no danger in returning the shuttle to the atmosphere in the state it was in.
