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For Immediate Release
CAIB PA 32-03

Date: June 6, 2003
Contact:  Lt. Col Woody Woodyard, 713-301-2244
  Laura Brown, 281-467-8657
  Patricia Brach, 281-283-7849


Foam Impact Test Breaks Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Panel

SAN ANTONIO, TX - An initial foam impact test on a section of an
orbiter reinforced carbon-carbon left-wing leading edge showed
visible and significant damage on RCC panel 6 and the T-seal between
RCC panels 6 and 7, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board
reported today. 

The foam-strike was part of a series of tests the CAIB is conducting
at Southwest Research Institute to determine how a foam strike of the
kind observed on Columbia's launch might damage the RCC panels,
T-seals, or their support structure. The tests were designed to
bracket the observed impact region and conditions.

In today's outdoor test, investigators fired a large block of foam
from a pressurized nitrogen gun aimed at the lower side of left-wing
RCC panel 6. The foam struck the panel directly on target and created
a three-inch crack extending from a visible three-quarter inch damage
area on the outside of the RCC to the RCC rib inside the wing. Later
examination revealed that the T-seal between panels 6 and 7 was
cracked as well. The strike also caused a shift in the position of
RCC panel 6 and the T-seals on either side of that panel, and chipped
a carrier panel on the upper side of the wing. 

RCC panel 6 was an actual panel that flew 30 missions on Discovery,
another Orbiter.

Foam details:

Weight:  1.68 lbs.
Dimensions:  21 3/8 inches x 11 9/16 inches x 5 5/8 inches
Volume:  1,390 cubic inches
Speed:  768 feet per second
Angle of incident:  20 degrees

The CAIB has not reached any final conclusions and has not determined
the cause of the loss of the shuttle and crew. The board's final
report will be issued later this summer.

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