NASA: Columbia Crew Survived A Short Time

The Columbia astronauts survived for 45 seconds after their spaceship careened out of control during atmospheric reentry in 2003 but lost consciousness after their crew cabin depressurized 12 miles above Texas, a new NASA report shows.

The seven astronauts were not securely strapped into their seats, and spacesuit helmets lacked head, lumbar and neck restraints, resulting in "thrashing" injuries and lethal trauma to the unconscious crew, the report says.

Among 30 recommendations: Future spacesuits and spacecraft should be designed to minimize crew injury and maximize crew survival during accident scenarios, the report says. Head and neck restraints similar to those used in professional automobile racing also should be employed, it says.

"In summary, many findings, conclusions, and recommendations have resulted from this investigation which will be valuable both to spacecraft designers and accident investigators," said a special NASA study group that included independent experts. "It is the team's expectation that readers will approach the report with the respect and integrity that the subject and the crew of Columbia deserve."

You can download and save a copy of the 400-page report (16.2 MB) in PDF format here: Crew Survival Report PDF

NASA has it posted here: Crew Survival Report

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Evidence analyzed by the study group shows the Columbia astronauts were aware of the loss of control of the vehicle and were taking actions consistent with an attempt to recover hydraulic pressure.

The shuttle had lost hydraulic pressure to its aerosurfaces as a result of hot gasses blow-torching through a hole in its left wing. The astronauts and Mission Control had noted the failure of tire-pressure and thermal sensors just prior to the break-up of the vehicle.

Once cabin pressure was lost, the astronauts were rendered unconscious or killed. In either case, they were unaware of any subsequent "physical or thermal events," the report says.

"The crew was not exposed to a cabin fire or thermal injury prior to the depressurization, cessation of breathing, and loss of consciousness," the report says.

There is no evidence that crew error contributed to the accident.

The cause of death for the astronauts is listed as "unprotected exposure to high-altitude and blunt trauma."

The report noted that the partial-pressure launch-and-entry suits worn by the astronauts were designed to protect them at altitudes up to 100,000 feet, or about 19 miles, and air speeds up to 560 knots, or 644 mph.

The depressuization of the crew cabin occurred at 63,500 feet, or about 12 miles in altitude.

The suits were not designed to protect the astronauts from the reentry environment, where temperatures reach extremes as high as 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The bulky, bright-orange suits were a crew safety enhancement added after the 1986 Challenger accident. That shuttle and seven astronauts were lost in an explosion 73.6 seconds after liftoff.

The launch-and-entry suits primarily are designed to protect astronauts in scenarios during which a bail-out over the Atlantic Ocean might be required. Shuttles are equipped with a rudimentary crew escape system, also added after Challenger, that would enable astronauts to use a telescoping pole to bail out of an orbiter, but only during controlled gliding flight.

Astronauts on the first 24 shuttle missions wore only blue jumpsuits and crash-type helmets. The shuttle's flight deck was equipped with ejection seats for the first four shuttle missions, but those were removed when crew size was subsequently expanded to include astronauts riding on the shuttle's mid-deck.

The study group recommended that future speacesuits and spacecraft take into account the environments crews might be exposed to during both launch and entry accidents.

Columbia's five-man, two woman crew was lost when the shuttle disintegrated over east Texas during an ill-fated atmospheric reentry on Feb. 1, 2003.

Investigators subsequently found that hot gasses breached the shuttle's left wing, leading to the structural break-up of the vehicle 16 minutes before a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center.

The investigators blamed the accident of a 1.67-pound piece of foam insulation that broke free from the shuttle's external tank 81 seconds after launch and then blasted a six- to 10-inch hole in the left wing. The damage went undetected during a 16-day space science mission.

IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge the NASA photo of the Columbia astronauts in orbit during their ill-fated mission. From left to right in red shorts are mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, mission commander Rick Husband, mission specialist Laurel Clark and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. From left to right in blue shirts are mission specialist Dave Brown, pilot Willie McCool and mission specialist Michael Anderson.