New Delhi, February 4
Appropriate docking facilities and timely application of mathematical simulation modelling techniques may have prevented the tragic crash of ill-fated space shuttle Columbia, eminent Indian scientist Prof Yashpal said here today.
In this video image released by NASA at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, seconds after the lift-off of Columbia on January 16, particles are shown after pieces of debris struck the underside of the LH wing (left hand wing) of the orbiter. According to NASA, the debris appears to have originated from the area of the Y-bipod attach point on the external tank. The Y-bipod is what connects the external fuel tank to the space shuttle. NASA’s immediate study of the image determined no damage to the orbiter thermal protection system was apparent, further analysis is continuing.
— AP/PTI photo
|
“The fact remains that a damage was detected on the left wing during the ascent of the space shuttle and logically a slight temperature impact should have reflected in some
unusual indication at ground level,” Prof Yashpal told The Tribune.
He said if that was the case, it could have been possible to mathematically simulate and take necessary steps to prevent any disaster which could be life-threatening.
“Obviously, there is not enough past experience of handling such emergency situations”, he said.
Hypothetically, however, if the simulation techniques were applied at the time of the launch of the vehicle at the ground level, sufficient time of 16 days was available to prepare for any eventuality, the eminent scientist, who was a former Chairman of the UGC, said.
“In all possibility, there were two options that could have been considered at the ground level. Bring back the shuttle or dock the shuttle at a space station in the orbit itself,” Prof Yashpal said.
He said theoretically docking a space shuttle at a space station is not found to be a difficult operation. “Columbia could have been docked at the space station and the astronauts and crew members could have been rescued by another vehicle,” he said. But he hastened to add that these are all hypothetical questions and cannot be answered definitively due to inadequate data.
“I do not even know if the facility to dock in a space station was available in Columbia as it is present in Russian modules,” he said.
