Answers to Common Questions on Columbia

Feb. 6 -- The Columbia first flew in April of 1981 with a crew of two: John Young and Robert Crippen.

Three more test flights followed before the shuttle system was considered "operational." After the fourth flight, the manufacturer, Rockwell, began publishing advertisements saying: "When a spaceship lands on earth, it comes from Rockwell," emphasizing the fact that here was a spaceship that could land like an airplane and fly again another day.

The shuttle system is amazingly powerful and capable. When you watch it launch, you're seeing 4.5 million pounds of machinery leaving the ground under control on a collective rocket thrust of about 7- to - 7.5 million pounds, depending on payloads. Its design is a geometry that makes it a launch vehicle, orbiting space station and airplane/glider in one package. It is extremely capable, but it has definite limitation based on the state of current technology, physical law and budgets.

Here are the answers to some questions frequently asked in the wake of the Columbia disaster:

Q: Could Columbia have been aborted to a safe landing during powered flight to orbit?

A: Yes. The spaceship can be separated from its fuel tank after the booster rockets burn out. With the speed imparted to the point where the decision is made to abort, it can be directed back to the Kennedy Space Center or it can be sent for a gliding landing in Africa or Spain. If the problem is discovered late in the climb to orbit (for instance, loss of one or more engines) it can be aborted to orbit.

Q: Why didn't they go to the International Space Station and get off Columbia?

A: They didn't know there was a problem, so no rescue effort of any kind was considered necessary. But in more practical terms it would have been impossible for Columbia to get to the space station. The two vehicles (shuttle and station) were in very different orbits and there was insufficient fuel for Columbia to change its track. Besides, Columbia was never designed or equipped to dock with the space station. Columbia was restricted to orbits near the earth's equator where it could be used as a minor space station for two-week science missions.