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NASA Tests Shuttle Skin To Gauge Strength
The U.S. space agency says bits of insulating foam less than half an ounce can damage the space shuttle's skin, the New York Times said Thursday. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has spent $50 million testing what size foam fragments, which typically dislodge on takeoff from the spacecraft's external fuel tanks, can be deflected safely by the shuttle skin. Two years ago a 1.67-pound foam fragment hit one of Columbia's wings, creating a hole through which super-heated gases entered, destroying the wing and then causing the shuttle to break apart. NASA's tests showed a piece of insulating foam just 2.3-hundredths of a pound, or 37-hundredths of an ounce, falling off the top of the external tank and striking the leading edge of a wing could cause enough damage to bring down a shuttle. The agency expects to continue testing smaller and smaller bits of foam to see exactly where the shuttle skin's limits are. All rights reserved. © 2004 United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of United Press International. Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Elements In Place For Return To Flight
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jan 07, 2005The External Tank that will hold the propellants for the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission has reached its final Earthly destination: NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |
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