Shuttle Columbia Report

[terpkristin]

A detailed report was released today about what happened to the Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003 when it burned up upon re-entry owing to damage to the heat shield caused by foam impacting the wing on takeoff.

I haven't read the report in full yet...I'm not sure I can. This is an industry I'm so close to, and Columbia is the shuttle I've actually been in and seen launch. I think it's great that NASA released the findings, but some of it is downright gruesome, such as the fact that the crew knew they had no control as things were going from bad to worse to unimaginably horrendous.

On the one hand, I think this is good for NASA, that they'll be able to incorporate the lessons learned in this and in the initial accident investigation report findings into current missions and future vehicle designs (some of which they've already implemented, such as inspection of the orbiter once it gets aloft). On the other hand, this took a lot longer than I'd have ever expected, while the shuttle has returned to flight.

I wasn't around for Apollo 1, but from what I've read, the response was quick and decisive. I was 6 when Challenger had the failed o-ring, but from what I remember and what I've read (Challenger studies have become required reading for a lot of aerospace students, especially as a case study for how the engineers originally presented the data), the response took a bit longer, but had the TOP people on it (including Richard Feynman).

This response for Columbia seems almost lackluster in comparison. There have admittedly been greater pressures to get stuff to ISS (and the recent award of the Cargo Resupply Services contracts shows that NASA is already working to eliminate the need for the shuttle to resupply ISS), but I have to wonder, what really does the future hold for manned spaceflight? I've said here, and I'll say it again, that NASA of today is not a place I even considered working. It's nothing like it was in its heydey, and I'm not sure how to fix it.

Anyway, for those who might be interested, this is a brief note from NASA Watch on the telecon: Columbia Report Telecon Notes | NASA Watch
And this is a good summary of the report, from the parts of the report I glanced at, as well as the general repute of the source: The sad fate of the Columbia crew | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

/tk

[MJ4H]

Thanks for posting this.

[cartman]

I skimmed through it, and it is a very impressive and candid report.

The part I find amazing is that either the pilot or commander still had their wits about them up until the 'catastrophic event'. There were signs that they were trying to regain control of the shuttle up until the time it broke apart, even as everything else was going to hell. That is impressive.

[JediKooter]

Hopefully NASA has indeed learned from it and future astronauts will be safer.

This planet isn't getting any bigger and manned space flight will become even more important for future generations and what is being done now is really important even with the risk to life of the astronauts.

NASA needs to get back to the moon (establish a permanent base) and Mars soon after.

[Raiders Army]

Maybe this is just my worldview, but perhaps the lag in release of the report is due to the war in Iraq. I remember when this happened and I was getting my last haircut prior to deployment to Iraq. I'm sorry to say that I shrugged it off and forgot about it in the ensuing months and years.

I'm glad that they've noted other deficiencies beyond the main cause of the accident. Hopefully we can change this in the future.