While watching the news recently, it seems that yet again, the space shuttle was damaged in precisely the same way that it has been damaged (repeatedly) in the past. This was also the reason for the Columbia disaster.
A piece of insulating foam broke loose during launch, hit the heat-resistant tiles on the underside of the shuttle, and broke the tiles. This leads me to ask, “What is wrong here? Is it that the foam is too strong, or are the tiles too fragile?”
When I think of “foam,” I do not have an image of something that is either hard or sharp. When I think of “tile,” I would not try to breakup tiles, using a piece of foam (though apparently that would work!).
If someone tried to rob me, and he made the threat of using a piece of foam on me if I didn’t give him my wallet, I would not be overly concerned. I would actually be more alarmed by a “tile-wielding” assailant!
Was the tile made in China? Why does it crack when it is hit by a piece of foam? Isn’t there stronger tile? Why is the foam so hard? Can’t NASA find softer foam? I understand that there are velocities at work here, but I am fundamentally against putting fragile tiles and strong (yet easily separated) foam on space vehicles. Perhaps next, they should create a large Band-Aid to put on the damaged area… oh yeah… I guess they did that…
A piece of insulating foam broke loose during launch, hit the heat-resistant tiles on the underside of the shuttle, and broke the tiles. This leads me to ask, “What is wrong here? Is it that the foam is too strong, or are the tiles too fragile?”
When I think of “foam,” I do not have an image of something that is either hard or sharp. When I think of “tile,” I would not try to breakup tiles, using a piece of foam (though apparently that would work!).
If someone tried to rob me, and he made the threat of using a piece of foam on me if I didn’t give him my wallet, I would not be overly concerned. I would actually be more alarmed by a “tile-wielding” assailant!
Was the tile made in China? Why does it crack when it is hit by a piece of foam? Isn’t there stronger tile? Why is the foam so hard? Can’t NASA find softer foam? I understand that there are velocities at work here, but I am fundamentally against putting fragile tiles and strong (yet easily separated) foam on space vehicles. Perhaps next, they should create a large Band-Aid to put on the damaged area… oh yeah… I guess they did that…
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