{"id":41200,"date":"2009-02-02T01:55:59","date_gmt":"2009-02-01T17:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/columbia-her-legacy-honored-via-safety-management\/"},"modified":"2009-02-02T01:55:59","modified_gmt":"2009-02-01T17:55:59","slug":"columbia-her-legacy-honored-via-safety-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/columbia-her-legacy-honored-via-safety-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbia \u2013 her legacy honored via safety management"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six years after the tragic loss of Columbia and her crew, the efforts to improve the safety of the space shuttle continue to honor their memory. With the shuttle arguably the safest it\u2019s ever been, the safety modifications to vehicle hardware and procedures are only half the story.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A liberated piece of External Tank\u2019s insulating foam impacted and breached a RCC (Reinforced Carbon Carbon) panel on Columbia\u2019s left wing during the January 16th launch, Columbia had no chance of surviving the unforgiving environment of re-entry.<\/p>\n

Despite some voices \u2013 mostly those opposed to extending the shuttle program due to their Ares-based interests \u2013 citing scary loss of vehicle probability numbers for the remaining flights, the space shuttle is far safer than before STS-107.<\/p>\n

Extensive modifications to the External Tanks have seen a huge reduction in foam liberation, with the 2008 missions recording four of the cleanest flights in the shuttle programs history, resulting in no damage to the orbiter\u2019s Thermal Protection System (TPS).<\/p>\n

Since Return To Flight (RTF), no orbiter has suffered TPS damage that has even come close to calling up the additional backup of LON (Launch On Need) \u2013 which utilizes a plan to call up the next scheduled shuttle on a rescue mission.<\/p>\n

Knowing an orbiter hasn\u2019t suffered any damage has proved to be one of the key RTF improvements, thanks to multiple checks throughout the mission.<\/p>\n

Those methods involve hardware and process improvements, such as the WLEIDS (Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection System), used to \u2018feel\u2019 for any impact threats to the orbiter RCC\/TPS that may have been missed by the multitude of imagery and radar tracking techniques that follow the shuttle during her ride uphill.<\/p>\n

NASA mission patches<\/path>SpaceX launch tickets<\/path>Rocket building kits<\/path>\n

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\"\"Flight Day 2 now involves the use of another RTF capability, the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), used to check critical areas of the orbiter TPS, prior to Flight Day 3\u2019s RPM (Rbar Pitch Maneuver) photography \u2013 resulting in thousands of images of every inch of the vehicle, checked over by the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) on the ground.<\/p>\n

Post undocking Late Inspections again utilize the OBSS for a final check of the TPS, ahead of clearance for re-entry, with post flight inspections and reviews ensuring any lessons learned from the previous flight are taken onboard for the upcoming mission. The resulting details, even for the slightest anomaly, are nothing short of impressive.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the shuttle is a hugely complex vehicle, and is by its very design \u201cunsafe\u201d, but so is space flight in general. Protecting against the threats, to the greatest possible extent, is \u2013 without any doubt \u2013 being carried out by the engineers and managers tasked with caring for the vehicles and their crews.<\/p>\n

Examples can be seen almost on a daily basis, where dissent is welcomed and problems are discussed, as opposed to hidden or shouted down, an allegation of \u201cbad culture\u201d cited by the investigations into the losses of Challenger and Columbia.<\/p>\n

Any engineer can now call a \u201cTime Out\u201d and managers can call for a \u201cSafety Stand Down\u201d, should there be the slightest concern about a process being carried out on the flight hardware, an example of which occurred just last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad instances in operations over last couple of weeks that appear to have a common element \u2013 little errors on the part of techs,\u201d noted a recent Shuttle Stand-Up\/Integration Report on L2, relating to a small issue with the processing of the Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRM).<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an effort to refocus people and take a time out and think about that, they had a Safety Stand Down Thursday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeadership went out into various areas and talked to folks about some of those instances; made a plea for them to take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand. Think this was a positive thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n