LAT: Behind Chunks of Foam, a Failure to Confront Hazard

[DeepModem Mom]

Behind Chunks of Foam, a Failure to Confront Hazard
NASA was never forced to attack shuttle debris peril, and apparently rejected wider solutions.

By Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff Writer


In a history that includes technical setbacks and failures, NASA has always bounced back with a solution over the four decades of human spaceflight.

But its finding that large pieces of foam fell off the shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank during Tuesday's launch shows that the space agency has failed to solve the cause of the Columbia accident that killed seven astronauts on their return voyage in February 2003.

In the months after the Columbia disaster, NASA learned that foam debris falling off the external tank damaged the sensitive thermal protection system on the orbiter. Columbia burned up over Texas when superheated gases penetrated its wing. NASA then spent more than two years and $1.4 billion trying to improve safety.

However, the recommendations made by Columbia's accident investigators did not force NASA to confront the problem head-on. The board told the space agency to "initiate" a program to eliminate foam debris and "initiate" a program to strengthen the orbiter's thermal protection system, but it did not make NASA adopt a 100% fix to either system.

It also appears that in 2003, NASA rejected efforts by outside experts who proposed comprehensive fixes to the foam problem, because the proposals required aggressive redesigns or advanced foam technology that might have required significant investments....


http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-na-foam29jul29,0,2153441.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Maestro]

1. Truly sad

I am all for space exploration and I am quite concerned that comprehensive fixes were not in place. It might be time for the US to invest in a new shuttle program, lighter, smaller, but more frequent and of course with a different launch system. However, with billions being spent on illegal wars, where do we get the money? :eyes:

[napi21]

2. Yep. They read this on cspan WJ this morning.

I wonder what those "cost saving" decision makers are saying now?

This is the same thing that goes on in most American bussinesses every day! There's never enough time and $$ to do it right the first time, but always enough of both to go back a redo it, and take even more time and $$ then!