Why do they have such a problem with material busting off of the space shuttle on take off?

Question

YOu would think with all of the brain pool they have that someone would figure a way to keep it intact

Answer 1

The insulating foam is light weight but gets caked with ice because the tank it's covering is filled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. It's super cold. Liquid hydrogen "boils" at 423 (f) below zero. (-423)

At that temperature, the foam also becomes brittle.

Add the shaking from lift off, ice breaks free and some of the foam sticks to the ice.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, no. The foam insulation isn't very strong or durable--and has to be very lightweight.

Fixing the problem isn't insoluable. But not without an extensive redesign of the insulation/external tank. And--NASA is going to retire the Shuttles after another 15 missions. Even if Congress would fund a redesign, it wouldn't be ready soon enough to matter.

Answer 3

Well, consider the problem: You have to have a lightweight, low cost foam around a smooth, *huge* tank, able to withstand 80 to 90 degrees on it's surface, and -270 degrees on it's interior, while at the same time be strong enough to withstand winds of mach 2 to mach 4 (about 1200 to 2400 miles per hour).

If you have a better idea... please put it forward.

Answer 4

takeoff exerts tremendous forces on the psac shuttle and the rocket that carries it aloft. There is a lot of shaking as well as gravitonic forces ( the faster you accellerate the more g's you create) so by trial and error they are finding ways to make more durable materials. Much of what falls off is insulating foam which would usually do no damage because its relatively soft but at the speeds they are going are like rocks flung at your windshield on the highway.lethal missiles that do damage.

Answer 5

One of the side effects of buying from the lowest bidder. One reason I refuse to fly on a plane, it is composed of products from all the lowest bidders.

Answer 6

NASA is clearly incompetent.