NASA Officials Create New Launch, Ground Safety Rules

摘要

Shuttle launch officials have tweaked liftoff and landing procedures for the first post-Columbia shuttle mission in order to increase safety for both the orbiter's astronaut crew and observers on the ground. "The main difference from the flight of Columbia or previous launches has been the redesign of the external tank to prevent debris from bouncing off the orbiter during the launch phase," said Michael Sarafin, NASA's guidance, navigation and control (GNC) officer for Discovery's mission, during a telephone interview. The tank was redesigned to prevent the same type of critical wound that afflicted the Columbia orbiter when a briefcase-sized chunk of foam insulation broke off the external tank and punched a hole in the shuttle's left wing leading edge. That damage, investigators found, led to Columbia's destruction during its re-entry Feb. 1, 2003.