A CHUNK of fuel tank cladding fired at a replica space shuttle wing blew a whopping great hole in its leading edge last week. The foam easily breached the reinforced carbon composite (RCC) panels of the wing – a material NASA thought so strong it had barely tested it.
But the Columbia Accident Investigation Board says the impact test – performed as New Scientist was going to press last week – did much more than pin the blame for the wing breach on the foam insulation. Carried out at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, it managed to reproduce…
