The Columbia Shuttle Tragedy

On 2 February 2003 (NZ time) New Zealanders awoke to images of the NASA space shuttle Columbia crash-landing to Earth after its 16 day mission.

This TKI Hot Topic looks at the history of the orbiter or space shuttle programme; how shuttles work; and the men and women who, driven by their love of science and flight, choose the demanding and dangerous career of an astronaut.

The Columbia and the NASA shuttle programme

The Columbia made the first space shuttle flight ever on April 12, 1981.

It was the first of four shuttles originally built – Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis, and Challenger – after NASA steered away from the expensive rockets of the Apollo programme that are best known for the first manned moon landing in 1969. The shuttle Endeavour (named in honour of Captain James Cook’s ship) was built in the late 1980s to replace the Challenger after it exploded after lift-off in 1986.

The shuttles serve a number of purposes. Designed to deploy satellites (referred to as “payloads”) and retrieve them from the Earth’s orbit, the shuttles have an articulated “arm” called the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) that can grab onto objects outside the spacecraft. This technology made shuttles essential to the building of the international space station, since they could perform regular delivery trips to space and assist with the construction of the space station. Shuttle space flights also bring opportunities for scientific research. Almost 100 experiments were to be conducted during Columbia’s 16-day mission.

NASA designed shuttles to be reusable, and land back on Earth with the entire vehicle intact. This was a departure from the Apollo-era rockets where only a small capsule containing the crew and collected samples and/or experiments remained after re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. These capsules were slowed by parachutes and splashed down into the sea to be picked up by waiting naval vessels.

The shuttles were designed to fly 100 missions. This was the 28th mission flown by the Columbia. It had flown almost 140 million kilometres in its flight history.

The dangers of re-entry

The Columbia seems to have burnt upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Although the re-entry phase is very dangerous, this is the first time that an accident has occurred during this phase of a shuttle flight.

When objects travel through space, they travel in a vacuum. It is almost frictionless, and as such, requires little or no energy. Travelling through air, however, creates a form of resistance called friction – which in turn, causes heat. An object moving through the vacuum of space typically travels at speeds reaching tens of thousands of kilometres per hour. When it hits the Earth’s atmosphere, the air in front of it compresses incredibly quickly. When a gas is compressed, its temperature rises. Re-entry temperatures can reach as high as 3,000 degrees F or 1,650 degrees C.

Shuttles have been designed to withstand the temperature of re-entry. Shuttles are covered by special tiles, made out of silica (SiO2). These tiles are excellent insulators, covering the shuttle to act as a protective heat-shield.

Investigators are currently working to find out what caused Columbia’s heat shields to fail. Early theories implicate a piece of insulation that fell off the tank during the launch on 16 January 2003, striking heat-resistant tiles on the shuttle's left wing. NASA officials have indicated that the majority of system and structural failures happened on the left side of the shuttle.

The astronauts

Seven astronauts were aboard the shuttle Columbia. All lost their lives.

Being an astronaut is a highly dangerous profession. There have been a number of fatalities involving astronauts – however the loss of Columbia’s crew will be remembered along with two other incidents as NASA’s worst:

• Apollo1: Three astronauts die in a cockpit fire during testing for the first Apollo mission.
• Challenger: Seven astronauts are killed when the shuttle Challenger explodes moments after lift-off in 1986.

Many astronauts have considerable experience as military test pilots. These individuals are highly skilled pilots whose careers involve flying test aircraft. This is an extremely high-risk occupation. Other entry criteria into the astronaut programme include:

• US citizenship (for pilots and mission specialists)
• Bachelor's degree (engineering, biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematics) from an accredited college or university
• Three years of related experience after obtaining the bachelor's degree (a master's degree equals one year of experience, a doctorate equals three years)
• Passing a NASA space physical examination
• More than 1,000 hours experience as pilot-in-command of a jet aircraft (pilots only).

NASA announces new candidates every two years, selecting an approximate total of 100 men and women out of thousands of applicants. New recruits then undergo two demanding years of training and evaluation, which include academic, emotional, and physical education and assessments. At the end of the two-year training period, some recruits may be selected to become an astronaut. Once an astronaut is selected for a flight, they receive specific training for the mission at least 10 months prior to the flight.

“Astronaut training is so rigorous that you quickly realise how dangerous this is," says Howard McCurdy, a NASA historian. "Even though you might not be frightened, you are certainly aware of all the other ways things can go." However, astronauts remain undaunted. In the words of former shuttle mission specialist Sally Ride: "I just want to fly in outer space."

NASA: The Columbia
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/home/

Virtual tour of the Columbia space shuttle
Note: this page is graphics-dense and may be slow to load.
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-90/vrtour

Howstuffworks: How Space Shuttles Work
www.howstuffworks.com/space-shuttle.htm

Kennedy Space Centre – Factoids
This page details each NASA shuttle mission since 1980.
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/factoids/orbiter.htm#col

Space Shuttle Launches
Information about each NASA shuttle launch since the programme’s beginnings in 1980.
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/missions.html

How Spacesuits Work
Learn how spacesuits work and why they cost $12 million each!
http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-suit3.htm

How Do I Become An Astronaut?
http://people.howstuffworks.com/question534.htm

News articles

CNN – Columbia
Read the latest news stories on the Columbia shuttle tragedy.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/02/shuttle.investigation

Space is a risky workplace
An article about the risks of being an astronaut.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0203/p10s01-usgn.html

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