THE space shuttle Columbia seems to have narrowly avoided disaster after a string of equipment failures on its way into orbit last week.
Within seconds of the launch on 20 July, a power glitch knocked out computers that controlled two of the shuttle's three main engines. Backup computers immediately took over, averting a major problem.
Even more worrying, one of the many stainless steel tubes carrying liquid hydrogen to an engine nozzle seems to have burst at liftoff. The hydrogen it carries not only combines with oxygen to generate thrust, it also helps cool the engine nozzle. As a result, the engine burned hotter than normal, consuming more fuel-which may explain why Columbia's engines cut out a fraction of a second too early, leaving it in a lower orbit than was planned.
Both of the problems might have forced a risky manoeuvre requiring Eileen Collins-NASA's first female mission commander-and her ...
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