Laurel Blair Salton Clark (1961–2003)

This chapter describes Laurel Clark, an American astronaut who died during the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia when it entered the atmosphere.

Kalpana Chawla (1962–2003)

This chapter deals with the life of the Indian astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died during the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia when it entered the atmosphere.

Modeling Hypervelocity Impact of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Composite Thermal Protection System

Reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) composite is used in applications where structural stiffness and strength must be maintained at very high temperatures that may reach 2000°C or more. For example, it was used on both the Space Shuttle’s nose cone and the leading edges of its wings. As exemplified by the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, the ability of these materials to survive impacts up to hypervelocity speeds can be critical for some applications. As computational modeling becomes an increasingly important component of the design process, the ability to accurately model RCC materials under impact conditions likewise becomes more and more important. This paper describes a computational model of the thermal protection used on the Space Shuttle orbiter. The model incorporates both the RCC comprising much of the protection system and its silicon carbide coating. The model was subjected to hypervelocity impacts with both steel and aluminum projectiles, and the results were compared to test data from the literature.

Death on Orbit: Extreme Environmental Conditions and the Deaths of American Astronauts

When the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost in 2003, the investigation presented many unique challenges, including numerous findings that had never been observed by forensic pathologists. The previous two major space shuttle fatality incidents also presented unique and complex issues. The causes of these incidents are now identified and the environmental impacts on the astronauts were a major contributor to the tragedies. Even with the improvements learned from the losses of Apollo 1 (1967), the Challenger (1986), and the Columbia (2003), space flight continues to be one of the most dangerous professions and environmental factors are significant contributors to this threat. While many have now been explained, the myriad of environmental insults to the crew continues to be a source of interest for those involved in space flight. Most forensic pathologists will never be involved in a death investigation of astronauts at the edge of outer space, on a mission, or during training, yet the findings are nevertheless of interest in the field of environmental death.

A Rhetorical Analysis of George W. Bush’s National Eulogies

This article offers a critique of President George W. Bush’s national eulogies for the victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, the space shuttle Columbia disaster, and Hurricane Katrina. It addresses the problem of limited research of multiple eulogies from the same president. The article examines the eulogies in two phases: first, it places the speeches within the exigencies and constraints of the situations in which they were drafted and delivered and, then, it analyzes their construction using two frameworks, one developed by Michael Robert Dennis and Adrianne Kunkel and the other designed by Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Karlyn Kohrs Campbell. The examination centers around the translation of the theory on the genre of the national eulogy into practice, the most prevalent components and characteristics in the eulogies, and the rhetorical effect of the eulogies, understood in terms of achieving the goals defined by the genre.