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Space shuttle entering the atmosphere

CADdigest.com will collect technical information related to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003.

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Investigation

  • Final Wing Test Finds Shuttle Disaster 'Smoking Gun' - investigators gave a dramatic demonstration of how the foam impact on the shuttle's wing caused the disaster, NewScientist.com, July 8, 2003

  • Investigators Pinpoint Fatal Shuttle Impact - investigators have pinpointed the exact spot that was damaged by falling foam and declared for the first time that this was "the probable cause" of the shuttle disaster, NewScientist.com, June 25, 2003

  • NASA's Foam Test Offered a Vivid Lesson in Kinetics - a NASA official said the recent test that showed the destructive potential of falling foam was a surprising demonstration of the power speed can give to something so light, John Schwartz, June 5, 2003 (may require free registration)

  • Investigators Link Shuttle's Breakup to Damage to Wing - the independent board investigating the breakup of the shuttle Columbia announced that superheated gas entered through a small hole in the front edge of the left wing and melted it from the inside out, John Schwartz, New York Times, May 6, 2003 (may require free registration)

  • Investigatory Board's Assignment: Balancing Analysis and Reassurance - a look at how the space shuttle's investigatory board arrived at their conclusion of what caused the February 1 accident, Matthew L. Wald, New York Times, May 6, 2003 (may require free registration)

  • Shuttle Breakup Theory Remains Elusive - investigators from the board analyzing the Columbia's breakup said they still have no working hypothesis of exactly what caused the accident, Matthew L. Wald, New York Times, April 25, 2003 (may require free registration)

  • Shuttle Probe Faults Analysis of Foam Debris - investigators say the analytical tool that Boeing engineers used to assure NASA that Columbia was in no danger was inadequate and outdated, Earl Lane, Newsday.com, April 9, 2003

  • Investigators Focus on Shuttle's Skeleton - plasma gas probably vaporized part of the aluminum skeleton of the spacecraft, which may have exploded like a bomb, Matthew L. Ward and John Schwartz, New York Times, March 11, 2003i (may require free registration)
  • Shuttle Tank Foam Damaged Before Launch - foam insulation on shuttle Columbia's external fuel tank had been damaged and repaired before its launch, Irene Brown, UPI.com, March 11, 2003
  • Shuttle's Age May Have Played Role - the investigation into Columbia's demise is raising new questions about how gracefully the 21-year-old spacecraft aged and whether it was more vulnerable to the rigors of spaceflight, Mark Carreau, Houston Chronicle, March 12, 2003

  • Columbia's Final Data Transmission Sends Mixed Signals - in their final seconds, Columbia crew may have tried to override the shuttle's autopilot, Marcia Dunn, Space.com, March 10, 2003 

  • Investigators Think They'll Pinpoint Shuttle Breach - investigators believe that clues from wreckage debris and data the shuttle transmitted to Earth before the disaster will help them pinpoint the origin of the breach in the shuttle's left wing, Alan Levin, USA TODAY, February 24, 200

  • Shuttle Inquiry Again Focuses on Damage From Debris - investigators have returned their focus to the early theory that a piece of insulation or other flying debris from the shuttle's external fuel tank damaged a wing at liftoff, William J. Broad and Edward Wong, New York Times, February 20, 2003 (may require free registration)

  • Scientists Seek Clues in Solar Storm That Enveloped Shuttle - a storm of particles and radiation from the Sun that crossed the path of Columbia as it was making its descent to Earth is yet another prime suspect in the investigation of the shuttle's loss, James Glanz, New York Times, February 13, 2003 (may require free registration)

  • NASA: Orbital Collision May be Culprit - investigators are now trying to determine whether a piece of space junk or a tiny meteor inflicted a fatal wound on the shuttle while in orbit, Miles O'Brien, CNN.com,  February 10, 2003
  • Though Vulnerable, Wings' Leading Edges Lack Sensors - the absence of temperature sensors on the shuttle wing's leading edges (NASA removed them two years ago) may explain why the astronauts apparently had no idea of imminent danger, James Glanz and Warren E. Leary, New York Times, February 11, 2003 (may require free registration)
  • Shuttle Testing Suggested Wings Were Vulnerable - recent studies concluded that damage to the brittle, heat-shedding material on the leading edge of Columbia's wings posed a high risk of a catastrophic accident, David E. Sanger, New York Times, February 10, 2003 (may require free registration)
  • Officials Wonder if Ice Formed on Shuttle - NASA is searching for evidence that a block of ice large enough to damage the shuttle's wing may have formed on a waste water vent, Paul Recer, Space.com, February 9, 2003
  • USAF Imagery Confirms Columbia Wing Damaged - high-resolution images taken from a ground-based Air Force tracking camera in the southwestern U.S. show serious structural damage to the inboard leading edge of Columbia's left wing, Aviation Week and Space Technology, February 7, 2003
  • NASA Probing Columbia Shuttle's Launch - engineers are starting at zero seconds - when communication died with the space shuttle Columbia - and working backward, inspecting the smallest detail that might explain the cause of the space shuttle's breakup,  Marcia Dunn, Space.com, February 6, 2003
  • Range of Shuttle Theories, but None Seem to Fit All the Facts - investigators are now exploring an array of theories to help them reconcile the confusing and conflicting evidence of the space shuttle disaster, James Glanz, New York Times, February 6, 2003 (may require free registration)
  • NASA Eyes Possible Ice on Insulation - another new theory to explain the Columbia disaster is that perhaps the foam insulation that hit the shuttle on liftoff was coated or saturated with ice, making the object much more destructive than the space agency ever imagined, Marcia Dunn, Space.com, February 5, 2003
  • Engineers List All the Ideas, Striking Them One by One - engineers are employing one of the trusty tools of their trade - fault-tree analysis - to help determine what went wrong with the space shuttle Columbia, William J. Broad and Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times, February 6, 2003 (may require free registration)
  • Shuttle's Long History of Launch Damage - the space shuttle fleet has a long history of impact damage during lift off, with Columbia suffering similar incidents at least twice before, Justin Mullins, New Scientist. February 4, 2003
  • Debris Is Now Leading Suspect in Shuttle Catastrophe Inquiry - NASA investigators now believe that a piece of insulation that broke off the shuttle's external fuel tank shortly after liftoff is a prime suspect in the destruction of the shuttle Columbia, John M. Broder, New York Times, February 4, 2003 (may require free registration)
  • Shuttle Investigation Focuses on Heat Anomaly - the investigation into loss of the space shuttle Columbia is narrowing in on the spacecraft's left side, which became abnormally hot just before contact was broken with mission control, Jeff Hecht, New Scientist, February 3, 2003

 

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