NYT: (Space) Shuttle Surface More Vulnerable Than Suspected

[DeepModem Mom]

Does NASA consider this problem solved?


Shuttle Surface More Vulnerable Than Suspected
By JOHN SCHWARTZ

Published: January 20, 2005


The space shuttle's skin is turning out to be even more fragile than NASA engineers thought, its scientists and engineers say.

Impact tests and analysis performed as part of the return-to-flight effort show that pieces of insulating foam that weigh less than half an ounce can cause small cracks and damage to the surface coating on the heat-resistant panels on the leading edge of the wing, agency officials said in interviews this week.

They said the foam pieces could, under the heat of re-entry into the atmosphere, lead to the kind of damage that destroyed the shuttle Columbia two years ago.

John Muratore, the manager of systems engineering and integration for the space shuttle program, said the agency had figured out how to keep pieces even that small from hitting the orbiter by refining the process of applying the foam to the tank.

After this analysis, which Mr. Muratore estimates as costing about $50 million, the action taken by NASA should limit the size of pieces of foam that are still expected to pop off the tank to less than a hundredth of a pound, so "we have margin in here," he said....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/science/space/20foam.html

[UL_Approved]

1. The Space Shuttle is outdated

Its expensive, its ridiculously complex, and it is way past its expected service life.

The X-33 project was put into mothballs, but it showed promise of doing the Space Shuttle's job at a fraction of the price. This is something that needs to be revived.

[Timebound]

2. NASA is pretty much finished.

At least now that civilians have been able to make it up in space. (The X-Prize, I was following that thing back when it was first created and seemed like a far off, distant goal)

NASA isn't willing to take the risks anymore. Space travel is dangerous. There are never guarentees that you'll come home.

In the time of Christopher Columbus, sailing that far was dangerous. No guarantee you'd come home.

The difference between NASA and the civilian space agencies all over the world is that civilans want to explore and are willing to take that risk. No amount of death would ever stop them.

The first people on Mars will not be government funded. It will probably be civilians.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

3. The solution is simple

If the leading edge is so vulnerable, just turn the shuttle around.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. LOL!