First Columbia debris loaned for research

Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington May 20, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-4769)

Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (Phone: 321/867-2468)

RELEASE: 04-165

FIRST COLUMBIA DEBRIS LOANED FOR RESEARCH

The first pieces of Space Shuttle Columbia debris,
loaned to a non-governmental agency for testing and research,
are on their way from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC),
Fla., to The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, Calif.

The Aerospace Corporation requested and will receive
graphite/epoxy honeycomb skins from an Orbital Maneuvering
System pod, Main Propulsion System Helium tanks, a Reaction
Control System Helium tank and a Power Reactant Storage
Distribution system tank. The company will use the parts to
study re-entry effects on composite materials. NASA notified
the Columbia crew's families about the loan before releasing
the items for study.

Earlier this year, Dr. Gary Steckel, senior scientist in the
Materials Science Department in the Space Materials
Laboratory at The Aerospace Corporation, viewed the items.
"We believe these items are representative of the structural
composite materials flown on Columbia. They will enable us to
successfully meet our objective of calibrating analytical
models for predicting reentry behavior of composite
structures," Steckel said.

Researchers believe the testing will show how materials are
expected to respond to various heating and loads'
environments. The findings will help calibrate tools and
models used to predict hazards to people and property from
reentering hardware. The Aerospace Corporation will have the
debris for one year to perform analyses to estimate maximum
temperatures during reentry based upon the geometry and mass
of the recovered composite.

"NASA's mission includes the development of technologies that
improve the safety and reliability of access to space," said
NASA's Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory. "By allowing the
scientific community to study Columbia debris, researchers
will have the opportunity to gain unprecedented knowledge
about the effects of reentry."

The request from The Aerospace Corporation was one of several
"Request for Information" applications NASA received to study
Columbia debris. The eight pieces of hardware were
inventoried inside the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building, where
Columbia's debris is stored and prepared for shipment.

"The idea of studying pieces of Columbia came to me in the
debris hangar soon after the accident," said Shuttle Launch
Director Mike Leinbach. "It was clear to me we could learn a
lot from it, and that we shouldn't bury the debris as we did
with Challenger's."

"To see the plan come together is personally rewarding,"
Leinbach said. "I hope the technical community will learn as
much as possible and put that knowledge to use to improve
spacecraft and flight crew system designs in the future," he
said.

For information about NASA and return to flight efforts on
the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

For information about The Aerospace Corporation on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.aero.org/home.html


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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info