Report NASA Eyes Shuttle Re-Entry
By JUAN A. LOZANO
HOUSTON (AP) — Even if the astronauts aboard space shuttle Columbia had dumped nearly 16 tons of material, the craft would not have been protected from breaking apart on re-entry, a NASA report concludes.
NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe said the report focused on the “very narrow question” of what options the crew could have done to protect Columbia from the atmosphere’s searing heat as it streaked to Earth.
O’Keefe noted the report doesn’t look at what things could have been done during the 16-day mission had NASA known of a dangerous breach on the shuttle’s left wing.
The leading theory for the Feb. 1 Columbia disaster is that a piece of foam insulation broke off the fuel tank during liftoff Jan. 16, hitting and dislodging a fragment of a panel or seal along the vulnerable leading edge of the shuttle’s left wing.
That created a gap that let in deadly scorching atmospheric gases during re-entry two weeks later, killing the seven astronauts on board.
The latest analysis, the result of questions arising from the board investigating the Columbia accident, was conducted by a NASA team led by flight director LeRoy Cain, who was on duty at Mission Control the morning of the accident.
The Cain report looked at three weight reduction scenarios and concluded that any measures to reduce the heat stress the shuttle faced during its descent would not have been enough to save the spacecraft.
“There wasn’t any other re-entry option that would have made a material difference,” O’Keefe said.
Removing the highest amount of weight possible was considered the best of the three options NASA might have taken. That would have meant dumping nearly 16 tons of non-essential items, including science experiments, water, radiator panels and other equipment.
But it only would have resulted in a 7 percent reduction in temperature along the left wing’s leading edge. Reducing the shuttle’s weight also would have required two spacewalks.
All of the options would have left the shuttle with the absolute minimums required to run critical systems, without any chances to wave-off landing opportunities and with a reduced ability to handle any new problems.
The scenarios all assumed there was no damage to Columbia’s thermal protection system because no computer model could accurately predict what impact even minor damage could have on heating of the shuttle.
Patricia Brach, a spokeswoman for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, said the group has not yet reviewed the report and it won’t make any comment on it until it does so.
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