February 1st, 2003

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:56 pm

On this day, five years ago, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke broke up completely during re-entry due to minor damage to the ship's thermal protection system. All seven members were killed as the shuttle disinigrated, making the disaster the worst space-related accident since the Challenger was destroyed during launch.
May they rest in peace.

Post by **Captain Seafort** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:01 pm

Five years? It seems much more recent than that.

I wouldn't call that hole "minor" - the incident on launch appeared minor, but the damage it caused certainly wasn't.

R.I.P.

Blackstar the Chakat · Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:06 pm

I remember where I was, on the way to a haircut appointment with Ginny, a nice woman I knew since childhood. It came over the radio that they had lost contact with Colombia. I felt my heart drop.

Post by **Tsukiyumi** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:26 pm

...The second entirely expected loss in the Shuttle program. Another necessary event for the future of space travel, but tragic, nonetheless.

R.I.P.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:55 pm

I wouldn't call that hole "minor" - the incident on launch appeared minor, but the damage it caused certainly wasn't.

Oh, right. I always thought it was just a small hole. My mistake.

Post by **Captain Seafort** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:03 pm

Rochey wrote:Oh, right. I always thought it was just a small hole. My mistake.

It was. The problem was that it was right on the leading edge of the wing, and allowed superheated air into the port landing gear compartment. Once that happened Columbia was ripped apart from the inside. If the same area of tiling had been damaged almost anywhere else on the shuttle it would have survived - and had done in the past.

RK_Striker_JK_5 · Post by **RK_Striker_JK_5** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:19 pm

Five years already... i was at work, listening to it on the radio. Man...

Blackstar the Chakat · Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:45 pm

Captain Seafort wrote:
Rochey wrote:Oh, right. I always thought it was just a small hole. My mistake.
It was. The problem was that it was right on the leading edge of the wing, and allowed superheated air into the port landing gear compartment. Once that happened Columbia was ripped apart from the inside. If the same area of tiling had been damaged almost anywhere else on the shuttle it would have survived - and had done in the past.

Well, that's the simplified version. The long version is that the heat weakened the wing causing it to bend, and sent the ship out of control. The other parts of the hull weren't built for the heat the bottom was and wasn't designed for that kind of stress. It was definatly spinning, evidenced from brief communication spurts from the shuttle's computer trying to restablish contact.

I kept tabs on it for a class for months afterwards. Although, the results were still the same. For a while it was thought the heat shield damage wasn't the cause, but weaking joints caused by some leaking liquid that I can't remember the name of. But they realized that it wouldn't have been strong enough to weaken the wing to bend like that.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:21 pm

It was.

And that's what I meant when I said 'minor damage'. As in 'minor damage to the outside of the ship'.

Post by **Captain Seafort** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:29 pm

Ah, in that case chalk it up to my misunderstanding whether you meant minor as in "small" or minor as in "not serious".

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:16 pm

No worries. I suppose I could have worded that a bit better. *shrug*