NASA and the Columbia Shuttle Accident

Join us for an afternoon with Nobel Laureate Douglas Osheroff as he discusses his experiences as a member of the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board. This event is free and open to the public. Presented by the Northwestern University Society of Physics Students and the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Sponsored by The Northwestern Alumnae Gifts and Grants Committee and the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. 

From Dr. Osheroff:
The Space Shuttle Columbia embarked on her final launch on January 16,  2003. It appeared that all had gone well, and Columbia reached its orbit apparently without incident. However, on reviewing the motion pictures of the launch, NASA engineers were able to see that a rather large piece of insulating foam had come loose from the external fuel tank and struck the left wing of Columbia near its leading edge. The engineers were gravely concerned, but in the end nothing was done to check for damage. On February 1 Columbia fell apart on re-entry, killing all on board. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board was then formed to determine the cause of the accident. I was a member of that board.