That left-wing damage permitted the penetration of hot, re-entry gases, which led to the loss of Columbia and its crew. Analysts estimated that a hole as small as 10 inches (25 cm) across could have caused the orbiter to be destroyed on re-entry through Earth's atmosphere. That foam strike punctured a hole in the RCC panel roughly 16 inches (41 centimeters) by 16 inches. The CAIB made the final conclusion that the foam-shedding incident on Columbia's takeoff affected panel 8 of the RCC heat-shielding, which was located on the orbiter's leading edge. It was set adrift after the orbiter reached space. A team of experts concluded that the departing piece had been lodged within the left wing by aerodynamic forces on Columbia's liftoff. The Flight Day 2 object, according to a source then working with the CAIB to help discern the cause of the Columbia calamity, was a fragment of the RCC panel on the orbiter's wing. That AFSPC procedure was later corrected. 16, 2003, with Columbia's crew settling into its mission, an object roughly the size of a notebook computer drifted away from the orbiter out into space.Īccording to a source that asked not to be named, "due to a procedural issue" the object was not recognized during Columbia’s 16-day mission by the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). (Image credit: NASA/CAIB)Ībout a day after launch on Jan. Scott Hubbard, Columbia Accident Investigation Board member, inspects damaged Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panel #8 following test.
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