Shuttle Foam Test Yields Hole in Wing - Associated Press

Shuttle Foam Test Yields Hole in Wing

Columbia Investigators Fire Foam Insulation at Shuttle Wing, Blowing
Open 2-Foot Hole

The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO July 7 —
The team investigating the Columbia disaster fired a chunk of foam
insulation at shuttle wing parts Monday and blew open a gaping 2-foot
hole, offering dramatic evidence to support the theory of what doomed
the spaceship.

The crowd of about 100 gasped and cried, "Wow!" when the foam hit.

The foam struck roughly the same spot where insulation that broke off
Columbia's big external fuel tank during launch smashed into the
shuttle's wing. Investigators believe the damage led to the ship's
destruction during re-entry over Texas in February, killing all seven
astronauts.

It was the seventh and final foam-impact test by the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board, and it yielded by far the most severe damage.

The 1.67-pound piece of fuel tank foam insulation shot out of a
35-foot nitrogen-pressurized gun and slammed into a carbon-reinforced
panel removed from shuttle Atlantis.

The countdown boomed through loudspeakers, and the crack of the foam
coming out at more than 500 mph reverberated in the field where the
test was conducted.

Twelve high-speed cameras six inside the wing mock-up and six outside
captured the event. Hundreds of sensors registered movements, stresses
and other conditions.

NASA will continue gathering more information about the poorly
understood pieces that line the vulnerable leading edges of shuttle
wings, board member Scott Hubbard said.

One month ago, another carbon shuttle wing panel smaller and farther
inboard was cracked by the impact, in addition to an adjoining seal.
This time, the entire 11 1/2-inch width of the foam chunk rather than
just a corner during previous tests hit the wing, putting maximum
stress on the suspect area.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030707_1189.html

Rusty B wrote:

Shuttle Foam Test Yields Hole in Wing

Columbia Investigators Fire Foam Insulation at Shuttle Wing, Blowing
Open 2-Foot Hole

The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO July 7 —
The team investigating the Columbia disaster fired a chunk of foam
insulation at shuttle wing parts Monday and blew open a gaping 2-foot
hole, offering dramatic evidence to support the theory of what doomed
the spaceship.

The crowd of about 100 gasped and cried, "Wow!" when the foam hit.


In the immortal words of Rosanne Rosanna Dana,

Well now, that's different.

On Mon, 07 Jul 2003 22:21:00 +0200, Kegwasher wrote:

In the immortal words of Rosanne Rosanna Dana,

Well now, that's different.

I think that was Emily Litella

Dale

The 1.67-pound piece of fuel tank foam insulation shot out of a
35-foot nitrogen-pressurized gun and slammed into a carbon-reinforced
panel removed from shuttle Atlantis.

/me gets an image flash of all remaining shuttles being blown to pieces by
the CAIB investigators... "look, if you punch it here, it breaks too!"

I didn't realize they were stripping the existing fleet to perform these
tests. Couldn't they take spare parts for this, or produce test samples?


Steven

In article ,
"Steven Van Impe" wrote:

I didn't realize they were stripping the existing fleet to perform these
tests. Couldn't they take spare parts for this, or produce test samples?


One of the purposes of the impact tests is to characterize damage caused
to flight-aged RCC segments. A serious issue (one that hasn't been
studied much if at all) is how RCC ages - how do its mechanical
properties change with time and exposure to flight conditions, for
example? Testing flight components of similar age to those on Columbia
will allow the CAIB the greatest confidence available in reaching its
conclusions. Testing newly-made test articles and/or stored spares
would be valuable in quantifying age as a factor in Columbia's
destruction - for instance, if new-made RCC segments don't fracture
under test conditions like the test articles have, then it becomes a
priority for NASA to institute some RCC manufaturing capability and make
up some new flight sets. On the other hand, such tests aren't truly
necessary for the CAIB's purpose, which is to determine the most likely
cause or set of contributing factors to the loss of Columbia and her
crew.

--
Herb Schaltegger, Esq.
Chief Counsel, Human O-Ring Society
"I was promised flying cars! Where are the flying cars?!"
~ Avery Brooks

On Mon, 07 Jul 2003 22:21:00 +0200, Kegwasher
wrote:


SAN ANTONIO July 7 —
The team investigating the Columbia disaster fired a chunk of foam
insulation at shuttle wing parts Monday and blew open a gaping 2-foot
hole, offering dramatic evidence to support the theory of what doomed
the spaceship.

The crowd of about 100 gasped and cried, "Wow!" when the foam hit.

Well now, that's different.

Or, "let's keep firing bigger pieces of foam at the wing until we get
results that match our theory..."

Nevermind that the foam chunks are now much larger and travelling much
faster than the computer models predict for STS-107. I don't want to
start sounding like JTM, but there seems to be something a little
weird about these tests.

Brian

Brian Thorn wrote:

Nevermind that the foam chunks are now much larger and travelling much
faster than the computer models predict for STS-107. I don't want to
start sounding like JTM, but there seems to be something a little
weird about these tests.

The foam is the same mass as used on earlier tests, I believe.
The impact energy also is a function of how fast the foam was spinning,
and the damage is a function of whether the foam hits flat
side on or edge on (the latter delivers the impulse over a longer
period, for a lower maximum force.)

BTW, I hope those persons who were arguing against improved photography
will now have the grace to reconsider their positions.

Paul

I didn't realize they were stripping the existing fleet to perform these
tests. Couldn't they take spare parts for this, or produce test samples?


Steven


The want to use flight flown parts.

"Rusty B" wrote in message
om...
Shuttle Foam Test Yields Hole in Wing

Columbia Investigators Fire Foam Insulation at Shuttle Wing, Blowing
Open 2-Foot Hole

The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO July 7 -
The team investigating the Columbia disaster fired a chunk of foam
insulation at shuttle wing parts Monday and blew open a gaping 2-foot
hole, offering dramatic evidence to support the theory of what doomed
the spaceship.

The crowd of about 100 gasped and cried, "Wow!" when the foam hit.

The foam struck roughly the same spot where insulation that broke off
Columbia's big external fuel tank during launch smashed into the
shuttle's wing. Investigators believe the damage led to the ship's
destruction during re-entry over Texas in February, killing all seven
astronauts.

It was the seventh and final foam-impact test by the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board, and it yielded by far the most severe damage.

The 1.67-pound piece of fuel tank foam insulation shot out of a
35-foot nitrogen-pressurized gun and slammed into a carbon-reinforced
panel removed from shuttle Atlantis.

The countdown boomed through loudspeakers, and the crack of the foam
coming out at more than 500 mph reverberated in the field where the

500 MPH!!!!! How did anyone come up with that figure? Seems excessive to
me.

test was conducted.

Twelve high-speed cameras six inside the wing mock-up and six outside
captured the event. Hundreds of sensors registered movements, stresses
and other conditions.

NASA will continue gathering more information about the poorly
understood pieces that line the vulnerable leading edges of shuttle
wings, board member Scott Hubbard said.

One month ago, another carbon shuttle wing panel smaller and farther
inboard was cracked by the impact, in addition to an adjoining seal.
This time, the entire 11 1/2-inch width of the foam chunk rather than
just a corner during previous tests hit the wing, putting maximum
stress on the suspect area.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030707_1189.html

jbw

On Mon, 07 Jul 2003 22:21:00 +0200, Kegwasher
wrote:

In the immortal words of Rosanne Rosanna Dana,

Well now, that's different.

....Emily Litella, actually.


OM

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his country. He won it by making the other | Sergeant-At-Arms
poor dumb ******* die for his country." | Human O-Ring Society

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