Newly Revealed Flaw Could Damage Shuttles

Investigators have found a new threat to future space shuttles — a 40-pound bolt fragment that could fly off during launch and smash into the spacecraft with catastrophic results as it raced toward orbit.

Members of the investigation board that is searching for the cause of Columbia's destruction said Thursday they found radar evidence that a piece of a 2-foot-long heavy bolt that joins the solid-rocket boosters to the shuttle's external fuel tank may have flown loose during the launch.

There is no evidence that the bolt fragment hit Columbia, but Air Force Maj. Gen. John Barry, a member of the board, said, "It has the potential to be catastrophic in the future."

Barry said the discovery does not change the board's working scenario that Columbia was fatally damaged by a chunk of foam insulation that peeled off the fuel tank and smashed into the craft's left wing during launch, damaging the heat shield. It's thought that superheated gases entered the hollow wing and melted it from the inside during re-entry on Feb. 1. Columbia broke apart, killing seven astronauts and scattering debris over parts of Texas and Louisiana. The shuttle fleet has been grounded since.

Barry said that while investigating the role that the external tank may have played in Columbia's destruction, engineers looked at launch radar records of the craft and spotted an image of an object near the shuttle just moments after the solid rocket boosters were ejected from the external tank.

Investigators determined the image could be a fragment of the heavy bolt that somehow was thrown free during booster separation. The bolts are normally exploded to free the solid rockets. Fragments of the bolts are supposed to be captured by a cylinder called a bolt catcher.

Tests with equipment like that used on Columbia showed that "the bolt catcher is not as robust as it should be," said retired Navy Adm. Hal Gehman, the board chairman.

In the tests, Barry said, the top of the bolt catcher came apart. If this happened during launch, a 40-pound chunk of the bolt would have been ejected and could have slammed into the space shuttle. He said the problem needs to be corrected before the space shuttle fleet is cleared to fly again.

The bolts attach the 150-foot-tall solid rocket boosters to either side of the shuttle's external fuel tank. When the solid rockets are burned out, explosives sever the bolts, separating the boosters which then fall back into the ocean for later recovery.

Barry's news conference followed a public hearing during which some of the nation's top space experts talked about NASA (news - web sites) struggles to fly the space shuttle and build the international space station (news - web sites) with budgets that were cut to the bone.

The experts said NASA moved money from the space shuttle program to pay for other programs. The board is investigating whether this compromised safety on the shuttle.

"The shuttle has been, if you want, the cash cow to finance the rest of the parts of the agency," said John Logsdon, a board member and a professor at George Washington University.

The 13-member Columbia Accident Investigation Board held its final public hearing before it retreats behind closed doors to prepare its formal report on the disaster. The board has indicated it wants to finish prior to the August recess by lawmakers in Washington.

Marcia Smith, who studies the space program at the Congressional Research Service, reviewed for the board the history of NASA's budget. She cautioned that it will be difficult for investigators to directly tie any decline in shuttle funding to the February tragedy. The research service advises lawmakers on policy issues.

It was "not clear that an increased budget would have helped" NASA appreciate the risks that breakaway insulating foam might damage shuttles on takeoff.

The budget for the shuttle approved by lawmakers during the last decade peaked at $4.04 billion in 1993, according to congressional researchers. It fell steadily until it dropped as low as $2.93 billion in 1998 and has gradually risen to $3.27 billion for fiscal 2002.

Russell Turner, a former chief executive at the United Space Alliance LLC, defended work the alliance performed under the "Space Flight Operations Contract," an omnibus agreement with NASA. He said safety and quality are "good or better" compared to other contractors and costs are lower.

Turner disclosed that the alliance could lose up to $70 million in penalties and forfeited payments if NASA determines that its work contributed to the Columbia disaster. The alliance is NASA's primary shuttle contractor.

"A bunch of that is money we would have to pay back to the government," said Turner, currently president at Honeywell Engines, Systems and Services.

Under questioning by the board, Turner said the contractor responsible for the shuttle's external tank — the source of the suspected breakaway foam — is Lockheed Martin Corp., one of the founding partners of the United Space Alliance. But he said work done by Lockheed on the external tank is distinct from Lockheed's participation in the space alliance.

FRom Reuters

Shuttles' Big Bolts Could Affect Return to Flight

Deborah Zabarenko - Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -

Possible problems with the big bolts that attach solid rocket boosters to the space shuttles' fuel tanks could affect the fleet's return to flight after the Columbia disaster, investigators said on Thursday.

"This is a possible return-to-flight issue that we're examining," said Maj. Gen. John Barry, a member of the independent Columbia Accident Investigation Board, referring to the bolts.

The three remaining space shuttles been grounded since Columbia's fatal Feb. 1 breakup over Texas. All seven astronauts were killed.

NASA (news - web sites) chief Sean O'Keefe said on Wednesday that the first shuttle flight was likely to take place in December or early next year. Pressure to continue to build and maintain the orbiting International Space Station (news - web sites) makes a relatively speedy return to flight essential. For now, Russian vessels are keeping the station supplied and staffed.

More than four months after the Feb. 1 disintegration of Columbia over Texas, Barry said the board's experts still believe foam insulation that fell from its external fuel tank seconds after launch caused the break-up by damaging the leading edge of Columbia's left wing. That allowed super-heated gas to penetrate the orbiter on re-entry.

However, at a news conference after the board's final public hearing, Barry said a "radar event" detected 126 seconds after launch might have been related to the bolts that attach the solid rocket boosters to Columbia.

"BOLT CATCHERS"

Normally, these four bolts on each of the two solid rocket boosters explode apart three seconds after liftoff, allowing the boosters to fall away from the shuttle as it ascends.

Specially designed "bolt catchers" are meant to collect the two separate halves of the bolts -- each half weighs about 40 pounds (18.14 kilogram) -- to keep them from striking the shuttle or damaging anything else.

The bottom halves of the bolts fall into a bolt catcher on the solid rocket boosters, and these boosters are typically recovered after launch and reused. The bolts' top halves go into a catcher on the huge external fuel tank, which normally sinks in deep water after separating from the shuttle.

The bottom halves of Columbia's big bolts have been recovered, but as is normal, the top halves have not been.

Because of some questions about the initial testing of the bolts in 1979 and because a new vendor supplied the bolts for Columbia, investigators are focusing on the bolts, Barry said.

Hardware is not the board's only focus, though, with some experts focusing on NASA's budget for the shuttle, which has remained flat or dropped over the last decade or so.

Other investigators stressed the need for better integration between various branches of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and better training for those on the ground who guide and monitor shuttle missions.

The board's report is expected to be complete before the U.S. Congress recesses in August, and members said at Thursday's news conference in Washington that the board is beginning to draft the final report.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.