It is believed that a piece of insulation foam from the fuel tank hit the left wing on lift-off and may have damaged threw heat resistant pads which cover the underside of the shuttle. These pads protected ‘Columbia’ from over 2,500° F and whose failure may have caused the disaster.
This was a routine flight which ended in tragedy for the families who where involved, but America vows not to let this stop the space programme.
Man has been going into space for over 42 years; we have also seen a lot of tragedy over the years. January 27, 1967 saw three astronauts perish in the ‘Apollo’ spacecraft fire. 19 years later, on the 28th of January 1986, seven NASA astronauts in the ‘Challenger’ shuttle died. Just after take-off, when a fuel leak ignighted causing the shuttle to explode.
Some people believe that the benefits far outweigh the costs. When it comes to technology we have advanced beyond belief, since going into space. If we didn’t have satellites in space we would not have the things we take for granted, like ‘Sky’ television or Mobile phones. We have benefited not only in technological advances in electronics; we have gained in materials like ‘Teflon’, Carbon Fibre and Titanium.
There are people who say that the amount of money spent on the space program could have been spent on something more practical. One of these options include investing the money into industrialising central Africa, this is one of the more positive ideas. There is also the idea that the money could have been used to make a super weapon of mass destruction.
It is human nature to be inquisitive, and we will always want to explore space. There have been casualties in most explorations, from sinking ships in the search for a new world to people freezing to death trying to reach the North Pole. I do believe that the space race is over, but I think there will always be space travel.