Did the space shuttle Columbia crash because of a screw?

This is not because of a screw. The final investigation report shows that the ultra-high temperature air intruded into the lower part of the heat insulation tile from the gap on the surface of the body and ran around, which eventually led to the disintegration and crash of the space shuttle on the way back, killing seven astronauts.

One minute after the plane took off, the wind intensity encountered was close to the limit allowed by NASA. Therefore, experts believe that the wings that have begun to age are easily impacted by foreign objects because of such strong winds, which will cause damage and form a "convenient future trouble" for the ultra-high temperature air invasion on the way back.

The rocket booster rocket, which usually matches the main fuel tank of Columbia, was disassembled and installed on another space shuttle about to take off. NASA reinstalled a new booster rocket for Columbia.

It may be that during this "unnecessary" disassembly process, the surface material of the fuel tank was damaged by the operation of relevant personnel, causing the thermal insulation material to fall off and hit the left wing of the space shuttle.

Extended data

The space shuttle Columbia was launched for the first time on April 2, 198 1, and it was the first space shuttle officially in service in the United States. The engine room of Columbia is18m long and can carry 36 tons of cargo. It looks like a large delta wing plane. The whole combined device weighs about 2000 tons, and it can also travel 2000 kilometers in both directions when sliding.

On February 1 day, 2003, at 9: 00 am EST, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated and crashed in northern Texas, killing all seven astronauts.

The crash of Columbia suspended the shuttle's main mission of transporting astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. John Peck, director of the space and military policy think tank, said that the initial mission of the space shuttle was not just to deliver materials to the International Space Station, but it became the main mission.

The cost of transporting goods to the International Space Station by space shuttle is too high, and the transportation cost per pound of goods is as high as 20 thousand dollars. The space shuttle has three main tasks, namely, conducting space science experiments by NASA, launching spy satellites, testing military equipment and providing satellite launch services for private enterprises.

Initially, NASA planned to launch the space shuttle 24 times a year. However, the frequency of launching space shuttles by NASA has not actually reached the expected goal, and the launch cost is far higher than expected. After the accident, the investigators concluded that there might be an air crash every 78 launches.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Space Shuttle Columbia