create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Office of Communications create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Columbia Disaster Robiel Ghebrekidan SYSM 6309: Advanced Requirements Engineering Summer /22/2013

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Table of Contents 1.Overview 2.Cause of the Failure 3.Corrective Action 4.Requirement Issues

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Columbia Disaster Space shuttle Columbia, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere at 10,000 mph, disintegrates As a result: –All 7 astronauts are killed –$4 billion spacecraft is destroyed –Debris scattered over 2000 sq-miles of Texas –NASA grounds shuttle fleet for 2-1/2 years

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Cause of Failure Insulating foam separates from external tank 81 seconds after lift-off Foam strikes underside of left wing, breaches thermal protection system (TPS) tiles Superheated air enters wing during re-entry, melting aluminum struts Aerodynamic stresses destroy weakened wing

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Cause of Failure Many times chunks of insulating foam broke off at launch and dinged the thermal protection system NASA had observed it so many times on orbiters that did return safely, they didn’t consider it a serious problem

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Cause of Failure Foam strike detected in launch videos on Day 2 Engineers requested inspection by crew or remote photo imagery to check for damage Mission managers discounted foam strike significance No actions were taken to confirm shuttle integrity or prepare contingency plans

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Earlier Shuttles January 28, 1986, the shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds into its launch, killing all seven crew members Investigation reveals that a solid rocket booster (SRB) joint failed, allowing flames to impinge on the external fuel tank

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Earlier Shuttles Liquid hydrogen tank explodes, ruptures liquid oxygen tank Resulting massive explosion destroys the shuttle

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Corrective Actions NASA created a contingency plans to launch a rescue for future mission Released a report outlining what it had learned from the Columbia accident with regard to crew safety and survivability for future spaceflight.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Requirement Issue –Both disasters happened because of both physical and human factors. –Each successful mission reinforced the perception that foam shedding was unavoidable…either unlikely to jeopardize safety or an acceptable risk. –Foam shedding, which violated the shuttle design basis, had been normalized

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