Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Columbia Space Shuttle disaster (What happened? (it was later discovered…
Columbia Space Shuttle disaster
What happened?
In 2003 on the 1st of Febuary, the Columbia air shuttle performed its usual approach to land just before 9am
The Columbia space shuttle broke up as it returned to earth
the seven astronauts on board were killed in the disaster
NASA stopped space shuttle flights for around 2 years as the accident was investigated
it was determined that a large piece of foam fell from the shuttles external tank and burst through the spacecraft wing
the Columbia space shuttle was the second disaster after the challenger disaster in 1986 which was caused due to a launch failure
Columbia was the first space shuttle to fly in space with 27 successful missions before the disaster in 2003
NASA investigated a foam strike from the launch of the Columbia air shuttle, after the air shuttle left the ground a piece of foam fell from the "bipod ramp" (this part of the structure attatched the external tank to the shuttle)
video footage showed the foam strike hitting the shuttles left wing
it was later discovered that there was a hole in the left wing which led to atmospheric gases leaking into the shuttle as it went through its re entry
this was also the reason for the loss of sensors that mission control had discovered, and eventually the loss of the air shuttle
Howell, E, 2017, Columbia Disaster: What happened, what NASA learned, viewed 17th September 2018,
https://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html
Mission control started recieving abnormal readings from the air shuttle as it was making its approach to land, its temperature readings were lost and tire pressure readings on the left hand side were also lost
Mission control made contact with the air shuttle at 8:59am to discuss the loss of tire pressure and temperature readings, the air shuttle responded with "roger" and after that they were cut off
Mission control made several more attempts to get in touch with the air shuttle with no luck
Why it happened?
it was discovered that there was a hole in the left wing which led to atmospheric gases being able to leak into the shuttle as it underwent its re entry
This would be a management issue as NASA chose not to follow up on the foam strike as the air shuttle took off which may have caused damage to the wing
these atmospheric gases were the reason for the loss of sensors that missions control discovered, and eventually the cause of the loss of the whole air shuttle
Howell, E, 2017, Columbia Disaster: What happened, what NASA learned, viewed 17th September 2018,
https://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html
design fault
no warnings
no procedure of what to do in this situation
Nature of system and system parts
human machine system
system parts
humans
designers
manufacturer
maintenance people
astronauts
communications staff
NASA staff
government
design
technology
no warnings due to technology
external influences
atmosphere
operations
external tank
solid rocket booster
orbiter
Design failures and system life cycle
design failures
no warning to the astronauts about the foam
no way to stop the atmospheric gases from leaking into the aircraft
system life cycle
concept/ design of the space shuttle
no warnings
no procedure in place to prevent the situation from happening
the construction of the air shuttle
everything may not have been checked thoroughly
commissioning
operating/ maintaining
may not have been maintained regularly enough
decommissioning
was the left overs of the air craft recycled
Issues and findings related to people, workplaces and management
management
organisational/ systems factors
management decisions
management failed to further examine the piece of foam that fell during takeoff
procedures
information transfer
communication
instructions
people
design deficiency
lack of knowledge about what to do in this situation
were they paying enough attention to what was going on
fatigue
stress
workplace
equipment design
warning systems
ease of use
displays
work environment
vibration
chemical/ gas exposure
