NASA: no way to save Columbia during reentry
Posted: Fri, May 2, 2003, 7:48 PM ET (2348 GMT)
An internal NASA report prepared after the Columbia accident and released this week concluded that there was no way to alter the reentry of the shuttle in such a way that would have allowed the crew to survive. The study, performed as part of an internal NASA review and not part of the independent investigation, looked at whether jettisoning equipment from the shuttle, such as the Spacehab module in its cargo bay, or cooling its left wing prior to reentry could have prevented the shuttle from breaking apart during reentry. Those techniques could have been used if NASA had known while Columbia was still in orbit that the shuttle's wing had been damaged during liftoff. Under the best-case scenario, however, engineers found that they could reduce the heating on the left wing by seven percent, too little to make a difference.
An internal NASA report prepared after the Columbia accident and released this week concluded that there was no way to alter the reentry of the shuttle in such a way that would have allowed the crew to survive. The study, performed as part of an internal NASA review and not part of the independent investigation, looked at whether jettisoning equipment from the shuttle, such as the Spacehab module in its cargo bay, or cooling its left wing prior to reentry could have prevented the shuttle from breaking apart during reentry. Those techniques could have been used if NASA had known while Columbia was still in orbit that the shuttle's wing had been damaged during liftoff. Under the best-case scenario, however, engineers found that they could reduce the heating on the left wing by seven percent, too little to make a difference.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, July 27
Nvidia is sending GPUs to the moon
TechCrunch — 5:47 am ET (0947 GMT) SpaceX plans Starship tower catch for next test flight, Elon Musk announces
KVEO-TV Rio Grande Valley, TX — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) An abandoned SpaceX rocket is about to crash into the Moon. The real problem comes next
The Conversation — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) European SpaceX Rival in Talks to Raise $300 Million, FT Reports
Bloomberg News — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) Musk’s SpaceX tumbles back to Earth, dragging Tesla stock down with it
Washington Post — 5:40 am ET (0940 GMT) |
