![]() The crew compartment of the space shuttle Challenger, with the remains of astronauts aboard, has been found 100 feet beneath the sea off the coast of Florida, NASA officials announced Sunday. ![]() The pictures tend to support earlier reports by investigators that the nose and crew compartment were. (AP) _ NASA released a set of 10 pictures Wednesday that show Challenger's nose section, with the crew cabin inside, breaking cleanly away from the exploding fuel tank and plunging apparently intact toward the ocean. The most palpable result of the accident was a grounding of the remaining three shuttles- Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour (the last built to replace Challenger)-until NASA and its contractors could develop means to prevent similar accidents, which included kits for repairs in orbit.CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Subsequent investigation by NASA and the independent Columbia Accident Investigation Board uncovered a number of managerial shortcomings, in addition to the immediate technical reason (poor manufacturing control of tank insulation and other defects), that allowed the accident to happen. Data from the vehicle showed rising temperatures within sections of the left wing as early as 8:52 am, although the crew knew of their situation for perhaps only a minute or so before vehicle breakup. Although some engineers had wanted ground-based cameras to take photos of the orbiting shuttle to look for damage, the request did not get to the right officials.ĭuring Columbia’s atmospheric reentry, hot gases penetrated the damaged tile section and melted major structural elements of the wing, which eventually collapsed. In fact, as demonstrated in postaccident tests, the foam was capable of punching a large hole in the reinforced carbon-carbon insulation tiles that protected the shuttle’s nose and wing leading edges from the extreme heat of atmospheric reentry. Bits of foam had detached in past missions without serious mishap, and, at the time of the Columbia launch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineers did not think that the foam carried enough momentum to cause significant damage. Films showed that a piece of insulating foam broke loose from the external propellant tank and struck the leading edge of the left wing approximately 81 seconds after liftoff. Ironically, the cause of the Columbia catastrophe soon was determined to be launch-related as well. The destruction of Columbia followed by almost exactly 17 years the loss of Challenger in a launch accident on January 28, 1986. Its major components and the remains of the crew were recovered over the following month. ![]() The disintegration of the craft was recorded by television cameras and U.S. As Columbia was reentering Earth’s atmosphere, it broke apart over Texas at approximately 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time at an altitude of 60 km (40 miles), showering debris across southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana. The crew comprised commander Rick Husband pilot William McCool mission specialists Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Laurel Clark and payload specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. STS-107 was a flight dedicated to various experiments that required a microgravity environment. Space shuttle: crew of Columbia on its last missionĬolumbia, which had made the shuttle program’s first flight into space in 1981, lifted off for its 28th mission, STS-107, on January 16, 2003. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! ![]() Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |