The ''Columbia'' Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was an internal commission convened by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

to investigate the

destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kind ...

of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' during

STS-107 STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003, and during its 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes ...

upon atmospheric re-entry on February 1, 2003. The panel determined that the accident was caused by foam insulation breaking off from the external fuel tank, forming debris which damaged the orbiter's wing, and that the problem of "debris shedding" was well known but considered "acceptable" by management. The panel also recommended changes that should be made to increase the safety of future shuttle flights. The CAIB released its final report on August 26, 2003.

Major findings

The board found both the immediate physical cause of the accident and also what it called organizational causes.

Immediate cause of the accident

82 seconds after launch a large piece of foam insulating material, the "left bipod foam ramp", broke free from the external tank and struck the leading edge of the shuttle's left wing, damaging the protective carbon heat shielding panels. During re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, this damage allowed super-heated gases to enter and erode the inner wing structure which led to the destruction of ''Columbia''. It was the seventh instance of a piece of foam, from this particular area of the external tank, breaking free during launch, and the only instance of structural damage as a result of the breakage.

Organizational cause of the accident

The problem of debris shedding from the external tank was well known and had caused shuttle damage on every prior shuttle flight. The damage was usually, but not always, minor. Over time, management gained confidence that it was an acceptable risk. NASA decided that it did not warrant an extra EVA for visual inspection, feeling that it would be like a car going down a highway and hitting a Styrofoam cooler.

Board recommendations

The board made 29 specific recommendations to NASA to improve the safety of future shuttle flights. These recommendations include: *Foam from external tank should not break free *Better

pre-flight inspection In aviation, an outside check or walk around is the air crew inspecting certain elements of an aircraft prior to boarding for security, safety, and operational reasons. The pilot primarily inspects outside parts of the aircraft they will stee ...

routines *Increase quality of images available of shuttle during ascent and on-flight *Recertify all shuttle components by the year 2010 *Establish an independent Technical Engineering Authority that is responsible for technical requirements and all waivers to them, and will build a disciplined, systematic approach to identifying, analyzing, and controlling hazards throughout the life cycle of the Shuttle System. Only two further Space Shuttle missions were allowed to be flown before the implementation of these recommendations.

Shuttle program after the CAIB report

After the CAIB report came out, NASA implemented all recommended changes and flew its first post-''Columbia'' mission in 2005. As part of the CAIB recommendations, the Shuttle carried a 50-foot inspection boom attached to the robot arm, which was used within 24 hours of launch to check the orbiter for damage. As all but one of the post-''Columbia'' missions were concentrated on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

, primarily to provide a "safe haven" in the event an orbiter was damaged beyond the normal repair methods, NASA implemented a

STS-3xx Space Shuttle missions designated STS-3xx (officially called Launch On Need (LON) missions) were rescue missions which would have been mounted to rescue the crew of a Space Shuttle if their vehicle was damaged and deemed unable to make a succes ...

contingency mission program that could launch a rescue orbiter on short notice, similar to the

Skylab Rescue The Skylab Rescue Mission (also SL-R)Mission Requirements, Skylab Rescue Mission, SL-R NASA, 24 August 1973. was an unflown rescue mission, planned as a contingency in the event of astronauts being stranded aboard the American Skylab space stati ...

that was planned during the

Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations ...

program. NASA retired the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...

fleet on July 21, 2011 after completing the ISS and the final flight and subsequent landing of ''Atlantis''. The Shuttle's replacement, Orion, was to have consisted of an Apollo-derived spacecraft launched on the

Ares I Ares I was the crew launch vehicle that was being developed by NASA as part of the Constellation program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares, who is identified with the Roman god Mars. Ares I was originally known as the "Crew Launc ...

rocket, which would use a

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was the first solid-propellant rocket to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. A pair of these provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first ...

as its first stage. Orion would not face the dangers of either an O-ring failure (due to the presence of a

launch escape system A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule that can be used to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiring the abort of the launch, s ...

) or shedding foam (as the spacecraft would be launched in a stack configuration). In addition to ferrying crews to the ISS, the Orion spacecraft was (as part of

Project Constellation The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a ...

) to allow NASA to return to the Moon. President Obama signed the NASA Authorization Act 2010 on October 11 which officially brought the Constellation program to an end, replacing it with the

Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA. As of 2022, SLS has the highest payload capacity of any rocket in operational service, as well as the greatest liftoff thrust of any ...

(SLS) and

Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Orion (officially Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin and the Eur ...

(MPCV) programs to develop the launch vehicle and spacecraft to enable human exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

Board members

Chairman of the board * Admiral Hal Gehman, USN Board members * Rear Admiral Stephen Turcotte, Commander, Naval Safety Center * Maj. General John Barry, Director, Plans and Programs, Headquarters

Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command ( MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Co ...

* Maj. General Kenneth W. Hess, Commander, Air Force Safety Center * Dr. James N. Hallock, Chief, Aviation Safety Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, Volpe Center * Mr. Steven B. Wallace, Director of Accident Investigation,

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

* Brig. General Duane Deal, Commander, 21st Space Wing,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

* Mr. Scott Hubbard, Director,

NASA Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labora ...

* Mr. Roger E. Tetrault, Retired Chairman,

McDermott International McDermott International, Ltd is a global provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott has more than 40,000 employees, as well as a diversified fleet of specialty marine co ...

* Dr. Sheila E. Widnall, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

* Dr. Douglas D. Osheroff, Professor of Physics and Applied Physics,

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

* Dr. Sally Ride, Former astronaut and professor of Space Science,

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is ...

* Dr. John Logsdon, Director of the Space Policy Institute,

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

Board support

*''Ex Officio'' Member: Lt. Col. Michael J. Bloomfield, NASA Astronaut *Executive Secretary: Mr. Theron M. Bradley Jr., NASA Chief Engineer

Partial list of additional investigators and CAIB support staff

*Col Timothy Bair * Col. Jack Anthony * Dr. James P. Bagian *Lt. Col. Richard J. Burgess *Thomas L. Carter *Dr.

Dwayne A. Day Dwayne Allen Day is an American space historian and policy analyst and served as an investigator for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Day is a senior program officer for the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National Re ...

*Major Tracy Dillinger *Thomas L. Foster *CDR Mike Francis *Howard E. Goldstein *Lt. Col Patrick A. Goodman *Lt. Matthew E. Granger *Ronald K. Gress *Thomas Haueter *Dr. Daniel Heimerdinger *Dennis R. Jenkins *Dr. Christopher Kirchhoff *Dr. Gregory T. A. Kovacs *John F. Lehman *Jim Mosquera *Gary Olson *Gregory Phillips *David B. Pye *Lester A. Reingold *Donald J. Rigali *Dr. James. W. Smiley *G. Mark Tanner *Lt. Col. Wade J. Thompson * Dr. Edward Tufte *Bob Vallaster * Dr. Diane Vaughan, sociologist *Lt. Col. Donald J. White *Dr. Paul D. Wilde *LCDR Johnny R. Wolfe Jr. *Richard W. Russell *Mr. Daniel W. Haros *Dr. Robert E. Green Jr. *Dr. Stuart E. Rogers *Dr. Reynaldo J. Gomez *Michael J. Aftosmis

References

Sources

CAIB panel and staff information
Retrieved February 15, 2004
CAIB Final Report, Volume 1 (August 26, 2003)

Retrieved April 30, 2011

External links

''Columbia'' Accident Investigation Board homepage

* {{Authority control 2003 in the United States Investigation Board Reports of the United States government