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The physical cause of Space Shuttle Columbia's catastrophic failure was a breach in its thermal protection system, caused by a piece of external tank insulating foam (SOFI) separating from the external tank and striking the leading edge of the left wing of the orbiter. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a rapid, robust and life-circle oriented nondestructive testing (NDT) technique capable...
The Space Shuttle Columbia's catastrophic failure is thought to have been caused by a dislodged piece of external tank spray on foam insulation (SOFI) striking and significantly damaging the left wing of the orbiter, which may have been due to a flawed section of SOFI. Microwave and millimeter wave nondestructive evaluation (NDF) methods have shown great potential detecting anomalies in SOFI such...
Undesired manufactured or in-service produced anomalies in the form of voids in the SOFI and unbonds in the heat tiles can significantly reduce their designed effectiveness. Additionally, unbonds in the heat tiles may cause their complete separation from the fuselage exposing it to extreme heat. Millimeter wave NDT methods are viable candidate for life-cycle inspection of the SOFI and the acreage...
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