July 27, 2005: NASA grounds the space shuttles
Today in the history of astronomy, foam falling from Discovery raises alarms.
Space shuttle Discovery is seen from the Internation Space Station on March 7, 2011, during Discovery’s final flight. Credit: NASA
During its July 26, 2005, launch, cameras captured a large piece of foam falling from space shuttle Discovery’s fuel tank. Since the Columbia disaster two years prior – the break-up of the shuttle on entry and the deaths of the seven crewmembers – had been caused by foam hitting the wing and rupturing a heat shield, NASA announced on July 27 that it would be grounding all shuttle flights until the foam issue was resolved. A year of intensive investigation followed. The foam shedding was a known flaw of the space shuttles, and ultimately, several possible reasons were defined, rather than one specific cause. But NASA began enhanced testing and inspection procedures as a result, as well as vetting in-space shuttle examination and repair techniques. The space shuttle program was also put on a path toward imminent retirement, ending in 2011.
Elisa Neckar is senior production editor of Astronomy magazine, and the editor of the Today in the History of Astronomy feature on Astronomy.com.
