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
|
|
SES sees shift in revenue from video to government services
Posted: Sun, Aug 3 12:05 PM ET (1605 GMT) SpaceX launches Starlink satellites and classified payloads
Posted: Sun, Aug 3 12:03 PM ET (1603 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, August 5
Firefly Aerospace lifts IPO range that would value company at more than $6 billion
CNBC — 4:33 am ET (0833 GMT) Project Kuiper partners with NBN Co to bring low Earth orbit satellite broadband to rural Australia
Amazon — 4:31 am ET (0831 GMT) NBN Co snubs Musk, inks satellite deal with Bezos’ Amazon
Sydney Morning Herald — 4:30 am ET (0830 GMT) Elon Musk’s Starlink loses out to Amazon in supplying satellite broadband for Australia’s NBN Co.
Startup Daily — 4:29 am ET (0829 GMT) How Tasmania fits into the space race between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk
Australian Financial Review — 4:29 am ET (0829 GMT) |
