February 1, 2003
ABOVE VIDEO: Ultimate moments of doomed shuttle crew.
(NASA) – On this present day, 20 years in the past, KSC touchdown was deliberate for Feb. 1 after a 16-day mission, however Columbia and crew had been misplaced throughout reentry over East Texas at about 9 a.m. EST, 16 minutes previous to the scheduled landing at KSC.
A seven-month investigation adopted, together with a 4 month search throughout Texas to get well particles. The search was headquartered at Barksdale Air Power Base in Shreveport, La. Practically 85,000 items of orbiter particles had been shipped to KSC and housed within the Columbia Particles Hangar close to the Shuttle Touchdown Facility.
The KSC particles reconstruction crew recognized items as to location on the orbiter, and decided broken areas.
About 38 p.c of the orbiter Columbia was finally recovered.
MISSION DETAILS
As a analysis mission, the crew was stored busy 24 hours a day performing varied chores concerned with science experiments.
Experiments within the SPACEHAB RDM included 9 industrial payloads involving 21separate investigations, 4 payloads for the European House Company with 14 investigations, one payload/investigation for ISS Danger Mitigation and 18 payloads supporting 23 investigations for NASA’s Workplace of Organic and Bodily Analysis (OBPR).
Within the bodily sciences, three research inside a big, rugged chamber examined the physics of combustion, soot manufacturing and hearth quenching processes in microgravity. These experiments supplied new insights into combustion and hearth suppression that can’t be gained on Earth.
An experiment that compresses granular supplies within the absence of gravity furthered our understanding of building strategies. This info may also help engineers present stronger foundations for buildings in areas the place earthquakes, floods and landslides are widespread.
One other experiment evaluated the formation of zeolite crystals, which may velocity the chemical reactions which might be the premise for chemical processes utilized in refining, biomedical and different areas. Yet one more experiment used pressurized liquid xenon to imitate the behaviors of extra complicated fluids corresponding to blood flowing by means of capillaries.
Within the space of organic purposes, two separate OBPR experiments allowed various kinds of cell cultures to develop collectively in weightlessness to raise their growth of enhanced genetic traits — one use was to fight prostate most cancers, the opposite to enhance crop yield. One other experiment evaluated the industrial usefulness of plant merchandise grown in area.
A facility for forming protein crystals extra purely and with fewer flaws than is feasible on Earth could result in a drug designed for particular illnesses with fewer unwanted effects.
A commercially sponsored facility housed two experiments to develop protein crystals to check doable therapies towards the components that trigger cancers to unfold and bone most cancers to inflict intense ache on its victims.
ABOVE VIDEO: President Bush’s deal with to the nation on the Columbia shuttle catastrophe.
A 3rd experiment checked out growing a brand new strategy of encapsulating anti-cancer medication to enhance their effectivity.
Different research targeted on modifications, resulting from area flight, within the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal methods; within the methods which sense and reply to gravity; and within the functionality of organisms to answer stress and keep regular perform.
NASA additionally examined a brand new know-how to recycle water previous to putting in a tool to recycle water completely aboard the Worldwide House Station.
The European House Company (ESA), by means of a contract with SPACEHAB, flew an necessary payload targeted on astronaut well being, organic perform and fundamental bodily phenomena in area. These experiments addressed totally different facets of most of the identical phenomena that NASA is concerned about, offering a extra thorough description of the consequences of area flight, typically in the identical topics or specimens.
ESA carried out seven in-flight experiments, and one ground-based, on the cardiopulmonary modifications that happen in astronauts.
Extra ESA organic investigations examined bone formation and upkeep; immune system functioning; connective tissue progress and restore; and bacterial and yeast cell responses to the stresses of area flight.
A particular facility grew massive, well-ordered protein and virus crystals that had been anticipated to result in improved drug designs. One other studied the bodily traits of bubbles and droplets within the absence of the consequences of Earth’s gravity.
SPACEHAB was additionally making it doable for universities, firms and different authorities companies to do necessary analysis in area with out having to supply their very own spacecraft.
The Canadian House Company sponsored three bone-growth experiments, and was collaborating with ESA on two others.
The German House Company measured the event of the gravity-sensing organs of fish within the absence of gravity.
A college was rising ultra-pure protein crystals for drug analysis. And one other college was testing a navigation system for future satellites.
The U.S. Air Power was conducting a communications experiment. College students from six colleges in Australia, China, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein and america had been probing the consequences of area flight on spiders, silkworms, inorganic crystals, fish, bees and ants, respectively.
There have been additionally experiments in Columbia’s payload bay, together with three hooked up to the highest of the RDM: the Mixed Two-Part Loop Experiment (COM2PLEX), Miniature Satellite tv for pc Risk Reporting System (MSTRS) and Star Navigation (STARNAV).
There have been six payloads/experiments on the Hitchhiker pallet — the Quick Response Experiments Enabling Science, Know-how, Purposes and Analysis (FREESTAR), which was mounted on a bridge-like construction spanning the width of the payload bay. These six investigations regarded outward to the Solar, downward at Earth’s environment and inward into the physics of fluid phenomena, in addition to examined know-how for area communications.
FREESTAR held the Essential Viscosity of Xenon- 2 (CVX-2), Low Energy Transceiver (LPT), Mediterranean Israeli Mud Experiment (MEIDEX), House Experiment Module (SEM- 14), Photo voltaic Fixed Experiment-3 (SOLCON-3) and Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment (SOLSE-2). The SEM was made up of 11 separate pupil experiments from colleges throughout the U.S. and was the 14th flight of a SEM on the area shuttle.
Extra secondary payloads had been the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Native Exhaust Experiment (SIMPLEX) and Ram Burn Statement (RAMBO).
Through the particles restoration actions, among the Columbia experiments had been discovered. Scientists have indicated worthwhile science will nonetheless be produced. A lot of the scientific knowledge was transmitted to experimenters on the bottom in the course of the flight.
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