Space Shuttle Disaster

When did STS-107, shuttle Columbia, take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida?

• January, 1986

• July 2003

• January 2002

• January, 2003

During the Nixon administration, what was decided regarding NASA's immediate future and its missions to space?

• Mars was the next target

• Missions wouldn't go beyond lower Earth orbit

• The U.S. would build the largest space station ever

• The space shuttle vehicle was too big for space flight

In the Challenger disaster, NASA found that a(n) faulty ​ (a)   was to blame for the tragedy.

• o-ring
• fuel line
• window seal
• computer program

True or False: The problem with the fuel tank insulation that doomed the Columbia mission was a known problem on previous flights.

• False

• True

True or False: NASA engineers did not know about the insulation strike on the Columbia wing until they reviewed video after the shuttle incident.

• True

• False

What did the Flight Director do once he knew that the shuttle Columbia had broken apart?

• He called the families of the astronauts

• He called the FBI about a possible terrorism incident

• He demanded that all data be preserved and communications be kept within Mission Control

• He immediately resigned from NASA

Investigators looking into the Columbia disaster figured out what about the foam that hit the left wing of the shuttle?

• It was made with the wrong material

• It provided over a ton of force when it struck the wing

• It had foreign objects embedded in it

• It also struck the tail of the shuttle

Did NASA think, if they knew about the hole in the wing, that there would have been a chance for a rescue of the Columbia crew?

• No, they couldn't have been prepared quickly enough

• Maybe, but it depended on NASA's budget & paying for another mission

• Yes, albeit a small chance to succeed

• Yes, but it may have taken a year to get ready for a mission

True or False: The shuttle program was retired by NASA because the shuttle limited the opportunities for NASA to explore beyond low Earth orbit.

• True

• False