2003 WORLD: COLUMBIA DISASTER RIVETED A NATION.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer Space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. Columbia's destruction shocked Americans girding gird 1 v. gird·ed or girt , gird·ing, girds v.tr. 1. a. To encircle with a belt or band. b. To fasten or secure (clothing, for example) with a belt or band. for possible war in Iraq and still reeling from terrorist attacks on New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Washington less than 18 months earlier. Doomed by damage done by a chunk of fuel tank insulation that broke off unheeded during launch 16 days earlier, the 24-year-old shuttle disintegrated Feb. 1 over Texas, killing six American astronauts and an Israeli. The foam had hit Columbia's left wing, damaging the thermal protection material that shielded the shuttle against the 3,000-degree temperature of re-entering Earth's atmosphere “Air” redirects here. For other uses, see Air (disambiguation). Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity. It contains roughly (by molar content/volume) 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0. . When the Columbia started back to Earth, the damage let heat penetrate to the wing's aluminum structure, ultimately melting it. The shuttle tore apart at 15,000 mph 40 miles in the air, dropping debris from California to Louisiana. An investigatory board concluded that the surviving shuttles were not inherently unsafe, but that a number of modifications were required to make them safer in the short term. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Space shuttle Columbia's trail in the early morning sky not long before it disintegrated over Texas on Feb. 1. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (2 -- color) Columbia's crew, left to right, front row, Rick Husband, Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla (Hindi: कल्पना चावला)(Punjabi:ਕਲਪਨਾ ਚਾਵਲਾ) (7 March 1962 – 1 February 2003), was an Indian-American astronaut and space shuttle , William McCool. Back row, David Brown, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson and Israeli Ilan Ramon. NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. |
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