HOUSTON A NASA-wide campaign is underway with technical teams sifting through data and debris in an attempt to find the cause behind the loss of Columbia and its crew.
Here at the NASA Johnson Space Center, groups of specialists numbering over 1,500 people are brainstorming scenarios that could have led to the Columbia catastrophe.
One early, and still preliminary finding is that the odds of foam falling off the shuttles external tank and fatally striking the left wing's reinforced carbon-carbon leading edge or in front of the left landing gear door appears extremely remote.
According to SPACE.com sources close to the on-going and growing investigation into the tragedy, study groups remain baffled as to what happened to Columbia. But NASA and contractor "tiger teams" feel confident they will home in on the true cause of the accident.
Forensic engineering
Study teams have mapped out a large and complex fault tree of possibilities to help weed out and identify the root reason for Columbias breakup during reentry. That fault tree has hundreds of branches.
NASA, its contractors, as well as representatives of the independent Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) are in "cross-talk" mode, trying to decipher why the space plane disintegrated on February 1.
In what one source called "forensic engineering", upwards of a dozen scenarios now focus on Columbias left wing. For instance, one team is looking into a meteoroid or orbital debris hit. Another idea gaining support is a possible plasma arc eating its way through the top of Columbias wing, and torching its way down into the space planes left wheel well.
Yet another thought, based on locations where debris fell, is the possibility that the left wheel door opened prematurely as Columbia plunged through the atmosphere. Wind tunnel tests at NASAs Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia are using shuttle models with gouges in their wings to evaluate aerodynamic forces that could tear apart a space plane.
Unidentified object
Meanwhile, attention is also being paid to a still unidentified object that seemingly drifted away from Columbia early in its 16-day mission.
That object appears to have been one-to-two feet square, according to one source. Radar scans by U.S. Air Force Space Command showed the object not to be tumbling initially. Furthermore, it does not appear to be a by-product from a violent strike, say from a meteoroid or piece of space junk hitting Columbia in orbit. Rather, the object could have been a thermal blanket drifting free from the space planes open cargo bay.
The floating piece was picked up in the routine measurement of debris in orbit carried out by the U.S. Air Force radar. But it was only after Columbias demise did the word get to NASA that the objects orbit seemed to indicate an association with the space plane. That data is still undergoing scrutiny.
An assessment is underway to accurately pinpoint the size, weight, and reflectivity of the object that reentered independent of Columbia. Tests are being initiated on candidate materials to see if there is a match up with radar scans of the observed piece of space flotsam.
Foam tests ordered
Although there is some skepticism about external tank foam damage causing the fall of Columbia, confidence building tests are on tap to shoot pieces of foam at target materials.
A hypervelocity gun has been built to hurl pieces of foam at shuttle tile and wing materials. Foam pieces are to be shot at different velocities, hitting target materials at varying angles. The hope is to learn more about the effect of high-speed foam striking the exterior of the space plane.
Test objects are being prepared and will be impacted over the next few weeks, according to a SPACE.com source.
Back into space quickly
There is hope here that the cause of the Columbia accident can be quickly identified, with NASA returning to human space flight as soon as possible.
That too is the view of Congressman Nick Lampson of the Ninth District of Texas, a district that includes the NASA Johnson Space Center.
Attending an astronaut memorial dedication here today, Lampson spoke exclusively to SPACE.com about looks into the shuttle tragedy, NASA, and the work of the independent Columbia Accident Investigation Board.
"Its my hope that its going to evolve in a professional mannerin a way that is going to give us quickly and effectively the answers needed so we can get back into space quickly," Lampson said.
Big picture vision
Lampson said that the big picture is creating a greater enthusiasm for the countrys involvement in space, "more than what weve seen in the last many years."
"As far as the Board is concerned, it really needs to be a board that answers to somebody other than anybody at NASA," Lampson said.
As to whether the lawmaker thinks the investigative board is totally independent, Lampson said: "No, but its getting therecloser now than what it was. It is moving in the right direction."
Lampson said he was a "reluctant participant" in a recent Congressional hearing on Columbia. "I thought the timing was too quick. We need to take the time to let the process take place. Let the investigators investigate whats happening," he said.
Once there are findings, Lampson said, then Congress can move forward on "policies that will shape what NASA does for the future to carry out our vision in space."
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