Foam impact cracks shuttle panel in test
Posted: Sat, Jun 7, 2003, 10:48 AM ET (1448 GMT)
A shuttle leading edge wing panel suffered at least two cracks after being hit by a chunk of foam like the one that hit Columbia during launch in January, investigators revealed Friday. In a test Friday at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, engineers fired a chunk of foam at a reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel taken from the shuttle Discovery. While the impact of the 0.76-kg chunk, hitting the panel at about 845 kmph, appeared to do no obvious damage, later inspection turned up a crack 7.5 cm long on the panel and a second crack on the T-seal that separated the struck panel from an adjacent one; the panel and adjacent T-seals also shifted position from the force of the impact. The test is seen by many as strong evidence in support of the leading hypothesis for the Columbia accident, namely, that the foam impact during launch damaged the panel and/or T-seal, allowing hot gases into the wing during reentry. Investigators said that while they couldn't reach such a conclusion yet, they noted that had such damage been noted to a panel during a preflight inspection, the affected shuttle likely would not be allowed to fly. Investigators are considering performing an additional impact test similar to Friday's test later this month.
A shuttle leading edge wing panel suffered at least two cracks after being hit by a chunk of foam like the one that hit Columbia during launch in January, investigators revealed Friday. In a test Friday at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, engineers fired a chunk of foam at a reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel taken from the shuttle Discovery. While the impact of the 0.76-kg chunk, hitting the panel at about 845 kmph, appeared to do no obvious damage, later inspection turned up a crack 7.5 cm long on the panel and a second crack on the T-seal that separated the struck panel from an adjacent one; the panel and adjacent T-seals also shifted position from the force of the impact. The test is seen by many as strong evidence in support of the leading hypothesis for the Columbia accident, namely, that the foam impact during launch damaged the panel and/or T-seal, allowing hot gases into the wing during reentry. Investigators said that while they couldn't reach such a conclusion yet, they noted that had such damage been noted to a panel during a preflight inspection, the affected shuttle likely would not be allowed to fly. Investigators are considering performing an additional impact test similar to Friday's test later this month.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, March 19
Firefly Aerospace Selected for the 2025 Robert J. Collier Trophy
National Aeronautic Association — 5:22 am ET (0922 GMT) Satellite development begins for EUMETSAT Polar System – Sterna
EUMETSAT — 5:22 am ET (0922 GMT) Minotaur IV rocket motor stacking at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-8
US Space Force — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) MDA Space awarded contract with Canadian Department of National Defence to deliver Ground-Based Optical Capability for Space Surveillance
MDA — 5:18 am ET (0918 GMT) Rocket Lab wins record contract with US Department of War
Radio New Zealand — 5:17 am ET (0917 GMT) |
