Even before Endeavor was launched in November 2002, NASA flagged foam loss as a "special issue". This is according to recently released documents
Even before Columbia's fateful mission began, NASA identified the loss of the insulation foam from the external fuel tank and its impact on the spacecraft as factors that have danger on their side. It was precisely in the area that the researchers believe that fragments that fell and hit the left wing of Columbia, and ultimately caused the disaster.
However, the space agency came to the conclusion that damage from foam fragments does not endanger the safety of the flight and defined the fuel tank that was attached to the Endeavor safe for flight without any additional worries or risks. This is according to recently published documents.
The documents were first revealed when NASA decided many months ago that such a risk was not enough to delay shuttle flights because of it, even though they defined this problem as frustrating when it is repeated repeatedly.
The findings include over a thousand pages of internal reports that NASA published last Thursday (20/3/2003) about the latest space missions.
The members of the investigative committee believe that the insulation foam that damaged the left wing of the Columbia during the launch. The foam fragments were splashed from that area in the fuel tank called a two-foot surface. They damaged the delicate insulation tiles on the wing and allowed hot air to enter the spacecraft during its entry into the atmosphere on February 1.
The bipod is a V-shaped structure attached to the Columbia near the front landing pad and on the other side it is attached to the orange painted fuel tank. Metal attached to the tank is covered with a foam pad that protrudes prominently from the surface of the fuel tank.
NASA fuel tank experts identified the foam problem on October 31, 2002, when they noticed loose foam during the preparation for the November 23 flight of Endeavor, the flight that preceded Columbia. They cited failure reports from three previous missions where the foam disintegrated right in the area of the bipod.
However, those who support NASA's action say that the foam has proven itself for over 20 years. They also commented that the process of installing the foam as part of the external fuel tank has not changed since 1993.
Furthermore, many times problems occurred in the surface area of over a hundred disposable containers that were used to launch the shuttles into space. The risk of breaking the foam from this area was not greater but also not less than those in previous flights. They came to a conclusion.
NASA previously stated that it is aware that on 4 flights since 1983 the foam has broken off and fallen from this area of the fuel tank, most recently on the 10-day flight to the International Space Station by Atlantis on October 7, 2002. This flight was the one that preceded Endeavour, When the foam problems were flagged by NASA's external container experts as a source of concern.
"We knew we had to figure this out before the next flight," said Ron Ditmore, the shuttle program manager. "So we were aggressively on track to try to help us know if there is any danger in this phenomenon or not.
