It has been two years since the space shuttle Columbia erupted in fire and disintegrated 207,000 feet above the earth as it was making its way home from a space mission and shuttle debris began raining on Texas.
All seven astronauts perished and the investigation focused on the left wing of the Columbia, which was hit by debris during liftoff. Upon re-entry, plasma entered the left wing and caused the inside of the shuttle to burn. System after system failed until the integrity of the craft failed and the shuttle broke apart.
Following an investigation, recommendations were made, like the ones that were made after the Challenger exploded. One of them was to provide a kit that would repair holes in the shuttle if it was breached. Now, with three months to go before NASA launches the space shuttle Discovery into space, the kit and training haven’t happened.
The ideas that have been tried haven’t been too successful and NASA has struggled to come up with a good solution.
Oh, here comes that sinking feeling.
And here’s the story.
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