Columbia

NASA Documents

Investigation

Sensor Timeline
This is a single page that presents the 25 graphics that make up the timeline in a kind of "flip book". Once you've flipped through the images once and downloaded them, you can flip through rapidly to get a feel for the progression of events. Also, pay attention to which cable carries data from the sensors that went offline.
STS-107 Post Launch File Review
17 January 2003, by the KSC Photo/Video Analysis Team. [PDF 142K]

Historical

Safety of the Thermal Protection System of the Space Shuttle Orbiter: Quantitative Analysis and Organizational Factors
M. Elisabeth Pate-Cornell, Stanford; and Paul S. Fischbeck, Carnegie-Mellon. December 1990.
Examines TPS quality control and safety issues. Relevant section on launch debris effects and statistics from the 1980s. [PDF 4.9MB]
Launch Debris Hit Statistics
Analysis of table on page 30 of the above. [HTML]
Risk Management for the Tiles of the Space Shuttle
M. Elisabeth Pate-Cornell, Stanford; and Paul S. Fischbeck, Carnegie-Mellon. January 1994. [PDF 3MB]
Thermal Stress Analysis of Space Shuttle Orbiter Subjected to Reentry Aerodynamic Heating
[PDF 1.3MB]
Space Shuttle Independent Assessment Team
March 2000 [PDF 8.8MB]

Dryden Flight Research Center

Impacts of Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System Tile on an F-15 Aircraft Vertical Tail
[PDF 1.1MB] (NASA Dryden)
Thermal Response of Space Shuttle Wing During Reentry Heating
[PDF 8.4MB] (NASA Dryden)
In-Flight Rain Damage Tests of the Shuttle Thermal Protection System
[PDF 1.3MB] (NASA Dryden)