Key Takeaways:
- On July 26, 2005, a significant piece of foam detached from the Space Shuttle Discovery's external tank during launch.
- This event prompted NASA to ground all shuttle flights due to concerns about foam shedding, mirroring the Columbia disaster's cause.
- A year-long investigation into the foam shedding issue ensued, identifying multiple potential contributing factors rather than a single root cause.
- The incident led to enhanced testing, inspection procedures, development of in-space repair techniques, and ultimately accelerated the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.
During its July 26, 2005, launch, cameras captured a large piece of foam falling from space shuttle Discovery’s fuel tank. Since the Columbia disaster two years prior – the break-up of the shuttle on entry and the deaths of the seven crewmembers – had been caused by foam hitting the wing and rupturing a heat shield, NASA announced on July 27 that it would be grounding all shuttle flights until the foam issue was resolved. A year of intensive investigation followed. The foam shedding was a known flaw of the space shuttles, and ultimately, several possible reasons were defined, rather than one specific cause. But NASA began enhanced testing and inspection procedures as a result, as well as vetting in-space shuttle examination and repair techniques. The space shuttle program was also put on a path toward imminent retirement, ending in 2011.
