NIST Assists NASA in Columbia Accident Investigation

ROCKET SCIENCE

beware of foam surfboards they can hurt

Maryland - Jun 02, 2003
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has provided significant assistance to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in its investigation of the space shuttle Columbia disaster on Feb. 1, 2003.

NASA has drawn upon NIST's expertise in cold temperature research for data on the properties of liquid and solid nitrogen and for measurements of thermal conductivity in foam insulation.

According to NASA, one theory for the disaster is that pieces of foam insulation broke off from the shuttle's external tank shortly after liftoff and struck the leading edge of the Columbia's left wing.

This may have caused a failure in the insulation on the wing, which proved disastrous upon re-entry. According to the theory, liquid and solid nitrogen between the foam and the tank wall may have contributed to the breaking away of the foam from the fuel tank.

NIST was able to supply immediately the properties of liquid nitrogen from its cryogenic database, and it provided NASA with properties data on solid nitrogen from 20 Kelvin up to its melting temperature of 63 Kelvin after a search of relevant cryogenics research papers.

NIST also helped NASA repair and calibrate an instrument for measuring the thermal conductivity of the foam at extremely cold temperatures, a critical part of the accident investigation tests. The unique instrument -- a very low temperature guarded hot plate -- was developed at NIST and later transferred to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

SHUTTLE NEWS

NASA May Offer Scientists Access
To Study Shuttle Columbia Debris

KSC - May 13, 2003
NASA's Kennedy Space Center has issued a Request for Information (RFI), seeking organizations interested in using debris from the orbiter Columbia in researching the effects of reentry.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.