Investigators have pinpointed the exact spot on the space shuttle Columbia that was damaged by falling foam and declared for the first time that this was 鈥渢he probable cause鈥� of the disaster.
The statements, made by the members of the Columbia Accident Inquiry Board on Tuesday, mark a significant firming up of the investigation as the board prepares its official report. This is expected in late July and will set out the engineering and managerial issues that NASA must address.
These will be numerous, but the board chairman Hal Gehman says it should be feasible to get the shuttle fleet flying again within six to nine months.
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CAIB will say NASA will need to makes changes in three specific practical areas. Firstly it must eliminate or reduce the chances of foam detaching from the shuttle鈥檚 main fuel tank in the first place. Secondly it must make the shuttle stronger to withstand such strikes if they do occur. And thirdly it must improve the ability to inspect and repair such damage in orbit.
Panel 8
The insulating foam鈥檚 fatal point of impact was on a single reinforced carbon panel on the left wing鈥檚 leading edge. Several lines of evidence have now converged to identify the panel as number 8.
聲 Unlike elsewhere on the wing, virtually no parts of the metal supporting structure behind panel 8 have been found, suggesting these burned up when hot gases entered the wing during re-entry
聲 Pieces of panel 8 were found strewn over a far wider area than other panels, suggesting it was first to come off as the wing fell apart. Also, tiles from the area of the wing behind panel 8 were found nearer the start of the debris trail than others
Continued tests involving firing foam at replica shuttle wings have indicated that such an impact could cause sufficient damage to breach the wing. But a final test, using an actual shuttle wing-edge panel of similar age, is set for 7 July.