For the first time since the investigation into the circumstances of the accident that led to the crash of the space shuttle "Columbia" and the death of the seven astronauts on board, NASA presented a theory about the cause of the disaster. In a statement issued by the space agency on Thursday, it was stated that the current working assumption is that a hole in the shuttle's shell caused hot gas to penetrate into the shuttle's body during and after entering the atmosphere - and that it was this penetration that led to the crash
The sensor data in the last minutes of the flight is sourced. Haaretz courtesy of Walla
For the first time since the investigation into the circumstances of the accident that led to the crash of the space shuttle "Columbia" and the death of the seven astronauts on board, NASA presented a theory about the cause of the disaster. In a statement published by the space agency on Thursday, it was stated that the current working assumption is that a hole in the shuttle's shell caused hot gas to penetrate into the shuttle's body during and after entering the atmosphere - and that it was this penetration that led to the crash.
The researchers ruled out the previous theory, according to which the fall of one or more insulation tiles, which were damaged as a result of a piece of insulation foam detaching during the launch, caused the temperatures to rise on the left side of the shuttle and in the landing gear basin, resulting in a loss of control and disintegration. The tests they did revealed that the loss of tiles cannot cause such rapid heat transfer as was diagnosed in the last measurements that came from the shuttle before its crash.
Researchers now believe that a hole in the shuttle's aluminum shell is the main cause. It is not clear when this hole was created - and it may be related to the impact of the piece of insulation during takeoff, or from an impact of ice, a meteorite or a piece of "space debris" during the shuttle's stay in space, or when it entered the atmosphere.
This kind of hole is not a problem when the shuttle is on track. But when she returns to Earth, conditions change. After entering the atmosphere, a hot gas, at a temperature of more than 1,500 degrees Celsius, is concentrated around the shuttle, known as plasma. The shuttle's shell and insulation tiles are supposed to protect the shuttle from these extreme temperatures, but if there is a hole in the shell, the plasma could seep through. It creates a cutting flame effect, consuming everything in its path. The speed of plasma propagation in the shuttle is enormous and can cause a structural change in the shuttle within minutes, and as a result, the loss of the ability to control the space vehicle.
NASA still does not know the exact cause of the hole created in the shell, but the researchers stated that they are independently reproducing all the tests and data received from the moment of launch until the crash, in order to try and locate the cause.
Yesterday, NASA also published the video recordings from the central control room in Houston during the last moments of the shuttle. Two days earlier, the agency had already allowed the voice recordings to be published, but watching the video documentation of the control center emphasizes how tense the atmosphere was in the last moments, when it was already clear that a disaster had happened.
The mission director, Leroy Kane, buried his face in his hands, wiped away a tear, and continued to give instructions to the ground crew members. Then Kane said that he had a prayer in his heart for the astronauts and their families. He added that he realized that the ferry was already in trouble when the first report of the malfunctions in the measuring instruments arrived, when the Columbia was still over the Pacific Ocean. However, he continued to try to contact her all the time, when she was flying from the western US towards Texas. Only when reports came from citizens on the ground, about falling fragments and the noise of an explosion, Kane realized that the ferry was lost and activated the emergency procedures for this case.
