Abstract
This paper describes the analyses involved in Sandia National Laboratories’ support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) investigation of the Shuttle Columbia accident. Several analyses were involved: preliminary scoping calculations to determine if enough energy was available to damage the leading edge panel, determination of strain-rate regimes for various materials to provide the material test conditions, validation of the failure criterion for the reinforced carbon-carbon composite panel, and finally the actual analyses of the accident scenarios. These analyses were used for test configuration, instrumentation location, and calibration definition in support of full-scale testing of the panels in June, 2003. These tests subsequently confirmed the accident cause.
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