The wing and underbelly reconstruction of Space Shuttle Columbia took place at the Shuttle Landing Facility Hangar after the accident which destroyed STS-107. Fragments were placed on a grid according to their original location on the orbiter. Some Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels of the left wing leading edge and other parts from both leading edges were recovered and incorporated into the reconstruction. The recovered parts were tracked on a database according to a number and also tracked on a map of the orbiter. This viewgraph presentation describes the process of failure analysis undertaken by the Materials and Processes (M&P) Problem Resolution Team. The team started with factual observations about the accident, and identified highest level questions for it to answer in order to understand where on the orbiter failure occured, what component(s) failed, and what was the sequence of events. The finding of Columbia's MADS/OEX data recorder shifted the focus of the team's analysis to the left wing leading edge damage. The team placed particular attention on slag deposits on some of the RCC panels. The presentation lists analysis techniques, and lower level questions for the team to answer.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Unlocking the Mystery of Columbia's Tragic Accident Through Materials Characterization


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Mississippi State University Materials Working Group Seminar ; 2003 ; Starksville, MS, United States


    Publication date :

    2003-10-03


    Type of media :

    Preprint


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English





    Tragic accident dents confidence in rail travel

    Statistik (ZCO22) | IuD Bahn | 1999


    Columbia's final mission

    Schuiling, Roelof | Online Contents | 2003


    British Columbia's ships

    Engineering Index Backfile | 1918