July 22, 2008; 6:30pm-9:00pm
Michaels at Shoreline, Mountain View
Dr. James D. Walker
Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, TX
[At right:
On Jan. 16, 2003, 81.7 seconds into ascent, foam separated from the bipod
ramp of the external tank (A) and impacted Columbia's wing leading edge (B).
At the time the foam broke away, the shuttle was traveling 1,568 mph (Mach
2.46) and was at an altitude of 65,900 feet. Based on film evidence, the
foam traveled the 58-foot distance in 0.16 seconds. ]
[Enlarge]
The loss of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 was caused by the impact of foam insulation on the leading edge of the wing. The foam strike created a hole in reinforced carbon-carbon panel 8 that led to excessive heating during re-entry, loss of the integrity of the left wing, and subsequent loss of the vehicle and crew. In the two and a half years following the accident there was a concerted effort to understand the impact threat to the space shuttle system, before the launch of space shuttle Discovery on July 26, 2005. The effort was a large one, and was essentially comprised of five integrated parts:
The presentation reviews the extensive experimental and modeling efforts related to impact in the return to flight program and includes test and simulation videos. Finally, impact related results from STS-114 are presented: ice formation on the pad during the first launch attempt, the on-orbit inspection, the tile gap fillers, the torn fabric blanket, and the post-flight inspection of the Orbiter upon its safe return August 9, 2005.
Dr. James D. Walker is a Staff Scientist at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, where he has worked for 18 years. SwRI is a non-profit engineering research center, employing 2800 people on a campus of 1100 acres. He was educated at the University of Utah and his primary field today is impact physics: he addresses the question of "How do projectiles go through armors?" He has won best paper, best poster, and best presentation awards.
As part of the Columbia investigation, he authored the chapter "Impact Modeling," contained in Volume 2 of the Report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (Appendix D.12, pp. 361-390).
In October 2004 he was included in Popular Science's third annual "Brilliant 10" list: he was recognized for bringing rigor to the field of impact physics and for his seminal work in impact modeling. He is the recipient of the ASME 2005 Holley Medal, awarded in "recognition of a great or unique act of an engineering nature, which accomplishes a great and timely public benefit," for his work in the Columbia investigation.
Dr. Walker has taught mathematics and mechanical engineering at the graduate level at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is an active member of AIAA: in the Southwest Texas Section he has served as Treasurer, Program Chairman, Chairman, and Newsletter Editor; on the national level he was chairman of the Weapon System Effectiveness Technical Committee and is currently a member of the Technical Activities Committee. His other activities include church, soccer, scouting (he was scoutmaster of Alamo Area Council Troop 685), high school robotics competitions (SA BEST and US FIRST) and politics (he was a member of the Electoral College in 2000). He was the recipient of the 2005 Murray High School Outstanding Alumnus Award.
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Registration, networking, and no-host cocktails at 6:30 pm; buffet dinner at 7;00 pm; program starts at 7:30 pm; program ends at 9:300 pm. This meeting is open to the general public.
For more information about this meeting, contact
Eric Mueller
Michael's at Shoreline
2960 N Shoreline Blvd
Mountain View, CA,94043
650-962-1014
Map: Google
