Shuttle foam impacts create only minor damage
Posted: Tue, May 13, 2003, 8:53 AM ET (1253 GMT)
A series of tests where foam like that used on the shuttle's external tank is fired at shuttle tiles shows that the impacts cause only minor damage. The tests, carried out using a powerful air cannon at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, were designed to simulate the impact of a falling external tank insulation on the landing gear door on the underside of the shuttle's wing. CBS News reported last week that the tests on a landing gear door taken from the shuttle prototype Enterprise revealed that in, most cases, a glancing high-speed impact of foam on the door caused little or no damage. Researchers plan to perform similar impact tests on reinforced carbon-carbon panels from the leading edge of the wing — the location where investigators now believe a hole allowed hot plasma into the shuttle during reentry — next month.
A series of tests where foam like that used on the shuttle's external tank is fired at shuttle tiles shows that the impacts cause only minor damage. The tests, carried out using a powerful air cannon at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, were designed to simulate the impact of a falling external tank insulation on the landing gear door on the underside of the shuttle's wing. CBS News reported last week that the tests on a landing gear door taken from the shuttle prototype Enterprise revealed that in, most cases, a glancing high-speed impact of foam on the door caused little or no damage. Researchers plan to perform similar impact tests on reinforced carbon-carbon panels from the leading edge of the wing — the location where investigators now believe a hole allowed hot plasma into the shuttle during reentry — next month.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Pentagon places head of Space Development Agency on leave for investigation
Posted: Sun, Jan 19 10:25 AM ET (1525 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, January 23
We’re going back to the moon: Everything to know about NASA’s latest lunar lander mission
USA Today — 6:43 am ET (1143 GMT) Agency: “OneWeb hurts Eutelsat”
Advanced Television — 6:42 am ET (1142 GMT) Rocket Lab to Launch Global Wildfire Detection and Monitoring Mission for OroraTech
Business Wire — 6:42 am ET (1142 GMT) Bezos' Blue Origin Hit With Sexism Suit From Former Welder
Bloomberg Law — 6:39 am ET (1139 GMT) Blue Origin's New Glenn Launches New Heavy-Lift Rocket Era
Aviation Week — 6:39 am ET (1139 GMT) |
