The white contrails of Columbia streamed across the blue Texas sky.
The image, caught on film Feb. 1, 2003, stunned Thomas Horvath, an engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.
“I remember watching with my kids the day it was re-entering,” Horvath said, his voice trailing off. “I knew what was happening.”
Space shuttle Columbia disintegrated, killing seven astronauts in NASA’s worst accident since Challenger 17 years before. President George W. Bush, addressing the nation that afternoon, said: “This day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country.”
While the nation mourned, Horvath and other NASA researchers went to work. Their task: figure out why Columbia split apart and ensure that it would never happen again.
The effort lasted more than two years and involved thousands of NASA researchers and contractors. It thrust Langley engineers, who also investigated O-ring seals that caused the Challenger accident, into a gut-wrenching probe that exposed weaknesses in the shuttle and in NASA’s culture.
The controversy began shortly after the accident when emails — from then-Langley engineer, Bob Daugherty — surfaced that had raised safety concerns about Columbia before it disintegrated.
Daugherty theorized that heat from launch debris damage might cause the wheels to explode. The warnings went unheeded and, for a few months, it appeared that Daugherty had foretold Columbia’s doom.
Investigators proved the theory incorrect but the incident exposed communication problems among NASA’s disparate centers. Investigators asked: How could such a seemingly dangerous possibility be ignored?
The negative publicity led NASA to establish an Engineering and Safety Center based at Langley. Led by Ralph RoeÖ, who was a key player in the day-to-day operations of shuttle flights, the safety center was created to provide an extra layer of scrutiny to NASA’s high-risk projects.
“We needed some type of supreme court for dealing with hard, technical issues,” said Roy Bridges, an astronaut and former chief at Langley and at Kennedy Space Center, who tapped Roe for the post.
As the safety center coalesced, Horvath and other researchers — part of a team that would eventually become HYTHIRM, or Hypersonic Thermodynamics Infrared Measurements — were busy in Langley’s wind tunnels.
Using a model built for the Challenger investigation, they tried to figure out what led to Columbia’s demise. They and other researchers eventually decided that foam debris from an external fuel tank caused a gash in the shuttle’s wing, allowing superheated gas to destroy the vehicle.
The safety center followed with additional investigations, including an examination of the grease used in the shuttle’s rudder and speed brake system. By the time shuttle returned to space — in July 2005 — more than 100 Langley researchers had joined the effort.
“Langley was instrumental in helping NASA return to flight,” said Bridges, whose tenure in Hampton coincided with much of the work.
The safety center has expanded its reach since the 2005 flight, whose crew included two former Langley researchers, Stephen Robinson and Charles Camarda. It drew headlines for examining complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyota automobiles and helped rescue 33 Chilean miners trapped underground.
Even with shuttle ending, the safety center’s role will be unaffected, Roe said.
Horvath expects to work more with SpaceX and other private companies slated to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.
“They’re going to have the same challenges we’ve had,” he said.Copyright © 2014, Daily Press