The STS-107 launch countdown was scheduled to be about 24 hours longer than usual, primarily because of the extra time required to load cryogens for generating electricity and water into the Extended Duration Orbiter pallet, and for final stowage of plants, insects, and other unique science payloads. SPACEHAB stowage activities were about 90 minutes behind schedule, but the overall launch countdown was back on schedule when the communication system check was completed at L-24 hours.

At 7 hours and 20 minutes prior to the scheduled launch on January 16, 2003, ground crews began filling the External Tank with over 1,500,000 pounds of cryogenic propellants. At about 6:15 a.m., the Final Inspection Team began its visual and photographic check of the launch pad and vehicle. Frost had been noted during earlier inspections, but it had dissipated by 7:15 a.m., when the Ice Team completed its inspection.

Heavy rain had fallen on Kennedy Space Center while the Shuttle stack was on the pad. The launchday weather was 65 degrees Fahrenheit with 68 percent relative humidity, dew point 59 degrees, calm winds, scattered clouds at 4,000 feet, and visibility of seven statute miles. The fore-cast weather for Kennedy Space Center and the Transoceanic Abort Landing sites in Spain and Morocco was within launch criteria limits.

At about 7:30 a.m. the crew was driven from their quarters in the Kennedy Space Center Industrial Area to Launch Complex 39-A. Commander Rick Husband was the first crew member to enter Columbia, at the 195-foot level of the launch tower at 7:53 a.m. Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla was the last to enter, at 8:45 a.m. The hatch was closed and locked at 9:17 a.m.

The countdown clock executed the planned hold at the T-20 minute-mark at 10:10 a.m. The primary ascent computer software was switched over to the launch-ready configura-tion, communications checks were completed with all crew members, and all non-essential personnel were cleared from the launch area at 10:16 a.m. Fifteen minutes later the count-down clock came out of the planned hold at the T-9 minutes, and at 10:35 a.m., the GO was given for Auxiliary Power Unit start. STS-107 began at 10:39 a.m. with ignition of the Solid Rocket Boosters (see Figure 2.3-1).

Wind Shear

Before a launch, balloons are released to determine the di-rection and speed of the winds up to 50,000 to 60,000 feet. Various Doppler sounders are also used to get a wind profile, which, for STS-107, was unremarkable and relatively constant at the lower altitudes.

Columbia encountered a wind shear about 57 seconds after launch during the period of maximum dynamic pressure (max-q). As the Shuttle passed through 32,000 feet, it experienced a rapid change in the out-of-plane wind speed of minus 37.7 feet per second over a 1,200-foot altitude range. Immediately after the vehicle flew through this altitude range, its sideslip (beta) angle began to increase in the negative direction, reaching a value of minus 1.75 degrees at 60 seconds.

A negative beta angle means that the wind vector was on the left side of the vehicle, pushing the nose to the right and increasing the aerodynamic force on the External Tank bipod strut attachment. Several studies have indicated that the aerodynamic loads on the External Tank forward attach bipod, and also the interacting aerodynamic loads between the External Tank and the Orbiter, were larger than normal but within design limits.

Predicted and Actual I-Loads

On launch day, the General-Purpose Computers on the Orbiter are updated with information based on the latest obser-vations of weather and the physical properties of the vehicle. These "I-loads" are initializing data sets that contain elements specific to each mission, such as measured winds, at-mospheric data, and Shuttle configuration. The I-loads output target angle of attack, angle of sideslip, and dynamic pressure as a function of Mach number to ensure that the structural loads the Shuttle experiences during ascent are acceptable.

After the accident, investigators analyzed Columbias ascent loads using a reconstruction of the ascent trajectory. The wing loads measurement used a flexible body structural loads assessment that was validated by data from the Modular Auxiliary Data System recorder, which was recovered from the accident debris. The wing loads assessment included crosswind effects, angle of attack (alpha) effects, angle of sideslip (beta) effects, normal acceleration (g), and dynamic pressure (q) that could produce stresses and strains on the Orbiters wings during ascent. This assessment showed that all Orbiter wing loads were approximately 70 percent of their design limit or less throughout the ascent, including the previously mentioned wind shear.

The wind shear at 57 seconds after launch and the Shuttle stacks reaction to it appears to have initiated a very low frequency oscillation, caused by liquid oxygen sloshing in-side the External Tank,4 that peaked in amplitude 75 seconds after launch and continued through Solid Rocket Booster separation at 127 seconds after launch. A small oscillation is not unusual during ascent, but on STS-107 the amplitude was larger than normal and lasted longer. Less severe wind shears at 95 and 105 seconds after launch contributed to the continuing oscillation.

An analysis of the External Tank/Orbiter interface loads, using simulated wind shear, crosswind, beta effects, and liquid oxygen slosh effects, showed that the loads on the External Tank forward attachment were only 70 percent of the design certification limit. The External Tank slosh study confirmed that the flight control system provided adequate stability throughout ascent.

The aerodynamic loads on the External Tank forward attach bipod were analyzed using a Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation, that yielded axial, side-force, and radial loads, and indicated that the external air loads were well below the design limit during the period of maximum dynamic pres-sure and also when the bipod foam separated.

Nozzle Deflections

Both Solid Rocket Boosters and each of the Space Shuttle Main Engines have exhaust nozzles that deflect ("gimbal") in response to flight control system commands. Review of the STS-107 ascent data revealed that the Solid Rocket Booster and Space Shuttle Main Engine nozzle positions twice exceeded deflections seen on previous flights by a factor of 1.24 to 1.33 and 1.06, respectively. The center and right main engine yaw deflections first exceeded those on previous flights during the period of maximum dynamic pressure, immediately following the wind shear. The deflections were the flight control systems reaction to the wind shear, and the motion of the nozzles was well within the design margins of the flight control system.

Approximately 115 seconds after launch, as booster thrust diminished, the Solid Rocket Booster and Space Shuttle Main Engine exhaust nozzle pitch and yaw deflections exceeded those seen previously by a factor of 1.4 and 1.06 to 1.6, respectively. These deflections were caused by lower than expected Reusable Solid Rocket Motor performance, indicated by a low burn rate; a thrust mismatch between the left and right boosters caused by lower-than-normal thrust on the right Solid Rocket Booster; a small built-in adjustment that favored the left Solid Rocket Booster pitch actuator; and flight control trim characteristics unique to the Performance Enhancements flight profile for STS-107.*5

The Solid Rocket Booster burn rate is temperature-dependent, and behaved as predicted for the launch day weather conditions. No two boosters burn exactly the same, and a minor thrust mismatch has been experienced on almost every Space Shuttle mission. The booster thrust mismatch on STS-107 was well within the design margin of the flight control system.

Debris Strike

Post-launch photographic analysis showed that one large piece and at least two smaller pieces of insulating foam separated from the External Tank left bipod (-Y) ramp area at 81.7 seconds after launch. Later analysis showed that the larger piece struck Columbia on the underside of the left wing, around Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels 5 through 9, at 81.9 seconds after launch (see Figure 2.3-2).Further photographic analysis conducted the day after launch revealed that the large foam piece was approximately 21 to 27 inches long and 12 to 18 inches wide, tumbling at a minimum of 18 times per second, and moving at a relative velocity to the Shuttle Stack of 625 to 840 feet per second (416 to 573 miles per hour) at the time of impact.

Arrival on Orbit

Two minutes and seven seconds after launch, the Solid Rocket Boosters separated from the External Tank. They made a normal splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean and were subsequently recovered and returned to the Kennedy Space Center for inspection and refurbishment. Approximately eight and a half minutes after launch, the Space Shuttle Main Engines shut down normally, followed by the separation of the External Tank. At 11:20 a.m., a two-minute burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System engines began to position Columbia in its proper orbit, inclined 39 degrees to the equator and approximately 175 miles above Earth.