On Oct. 7, 2002, the space shuttle Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-112.
This mission brought the Starboard 1 (S1) truss segment to the International Space Station. The S1 truss is part of the backbone of the space station, and it provides structural support for the thermal control system. During the launch, a chunk of insulating foam broke off of the external tank and hit the bottom of the rocket booster, leaving a huge dent. Luckily this didn't pose any problems for STS-112, but this was the same thing that caused the Columbia disaster just three months later. NASA later redesigned the shuttle to prevent this problem.
This mission brought the Starboard 1 (S1) truss segment to the International Space Station. The S1 truss is part of the backbone of the space station, and it provides structural support for the thermal control system. During the launch, a chunk of insulating foam broke off of the external tank and hit the bottom of the rocket booster, leaving a huge dent. Luckily this didn't pose any problems for STS-112, but this was the same thing that caused the Columbia disaster just three months later. NASA later redesigned the shuttle to prevent this problem.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00On this day in space.
00:03In 2002, the space shuttle Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-112.
00:08This mission brought the Starboard 1, or S-1, truss segment to the International Space Station.
00:13The S-1 truss is part of the backbone of the space station,
00:16and it provides structural support for the thermal control system.
00:19During the launch, a chunk of insulating foam broke off from the external tank
00:23and hit the bottom of the rocket booster, leaving a huge dent.
00:26Luckily, this didn't pose any problems for STS-112,
00:29but this was the same thing that caused the Columbia disaster just three months later.
00:33NASA later redesigned the shuttle to prevent this problem.
00:36And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:39♪ MUSIC ♪