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Earlier Shuttle Flight Had Gas Enter Wing on Return
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The space shuttle Columbia was not the first to have superheated gas invade its left
wing on re-entering Earth's atmosphere, according to documents released yesterday by
NASA.
In 2000, the documents show, the shuttle Atlantis went into orbit with a quarter-inch
breach in the wing's leading edge, allowing blowtorch-hot plasma into the wing on
re-entry. But unlike the accident that destroyed the Columbia on Feb. 1 and killed its
crew of seven, the incident resulted in only minor damage, leaving the wing's inner
structure intact.
They say the gap in the leading edge of the Atlantis wing was created because workers
installed insulation improperly during an overhaul in Palmdale, Calif., in 1997.
A NASA spokesman, Allard Beutel, said the only damage discovered by NASA after the
flight was to the piece of insulation itself. "The only component that needed to be
replaced was the butterfly gap filler seal that was installed improperly in the first
place," Mr. Beutel said.
The entire shuttle fleet was inspected for similar problems, and workers received new
training in installing the part "to make sure that it never happened again," Mr.
Beutel said.
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