Editing Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (section)

=== Space Shuttle updates ===
The Space Shuttle program was suspended after the loss of ''Columbia''.<ref name=learn>{{cite news |work=Space |url=http://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html |title=Columbia Disaster: What Happened, What NASA Learned |last1=Howell|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Dobrijevic|first2=Daisy |access-date=August 19, 2022|date=October 11, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925054548/http://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html |archive-date=September 25, 2016}}</ref> The further construction of the [[International Space Station]] (ISS) was delayed, as the Space Shuttle had been scheduled for seven missions to the ISS in 2003 and 2004 to complete its construction.<ref name="popsci_iss">{{cite magazine
  | last = Mowbray
  | first = Scott
  | title = After Columbia: The ISS in Crisis
  | magazine = Popular Science
  | date = March 17, 2003
| url = https://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2003-03/after-columbia-iss-crisis/
  | accessdate = August 19, 2022
| archive-date = September 17, 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210917081156/https://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2003-03/after-columbia-iss-crisis/
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref>
To prevent future foam strikes, the ET was redesigned to remove foam from the bipod. Instead, electric heaters were installed to prevent ice building up in the bipod due to the cold liquid oxygen in its feedlines.<ref name="rtfupgrades_p1">{{cite web
  | last = Armstrong
  | first = Dennis
  | title = Shuttle in Shipshape
  | publisher = NASA
  | date = March 8, 2005
| url = https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/rtfupgrades_partI.html
  | accessdate = August 19, 2022
| archive-date = March 3, 2022
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220303030431/https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/rtfupgrades_partI.html
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref> Additional heaters were also installed along the liquid oxygen line, which ran from the base of the tank to its interstage section.<ref name="bellows">{{cite web
  | last = Jensen
  | first = Martin
  | title = The Heat is On! New Heater Added to Space Shuttle's Fuel Tank
  | publisher = NASA
  | date = June 13, 2005
| url = https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/bellows_heater.html
  | accessdate = August 19, 2022
| archive-date = June 18, 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210618235210/https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/bellows_heater.html
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref> NASA also improved its ground imaging capabilities at Kennedy Space Center to better observe and monitor potential issues that occur during launch. The existing cameras at LC-39A, [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B|LC-39B]], and along the coast were upgraded, and nine new camera sites were added. Cameras were added to the bellies of ''Discovery'', ''Atlantis'', and ''Endeavour'' (only ''Columbia'' and ''Challenger'' had them prior) to allow digital images of the ET to be viewed on the ground soon after launch. The prior system on ''Columbia'' used film and could only be downlinked after the orbiter returned to Earth.{{r|rtfupgrades_p1}} The Orbiter Boom Sensor System, a camera on the end of the [[Canadarm]], was added to allow the crew to inspect the orbiter for any tile damage once they reached orbit.<ref name="rtfupgrades_p2">{{cite web
  | last = Armstrong
  | first = Dennis
  | title = Shuttle in Shipshape: Part II
  | publisher = NASA
  | date = March 5, 2006
| url = https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/rtfupgrades_partII.html
  | accessdate = August 19, 2022
| archive-date = March 24, 2022
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220324232952/https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/rtfupgrades_partII.html
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref><ref name="orbiter_boom">{{cite web
  | last = Heiney
  | first = Anna
  | title = Lending a Hand, an Arm ... and a Boom
  | publisher = NASA
  | date = January 28, 2005
| url = https://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/journal_jan.html
  | accessdate = August 19, 2022
| archive-date = April 15, 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190415045500/https://www.nasa.gov/missions/shuttle/journal_jan.html
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref> Each of the orbiter's wings was equipped with 22 temperature sensors to detect any breaches during reentry and with 66 [[accelerometers]] to detect an impact. Post-landing inspection procedures were updated to include technicians examining the RCC panels using flash thermography.{{r|rtfupgrades_p2}}

As well as the updates to the orbiter, NASA prepared contingency plans in the event that a mission would be unable to safely land. The plan involved the stranded mission docking with the ISS, on which the crew would inspect and attempt to repair the damaged orbiter. If they were unsuccessful, they would remain aboard the ISS and wait for a rescue.{{r|rescue_book|p=81}} The rescue mission, designated [[STS-3xx]], would be activated, and would use the next-in-line hardware for the orbiter, ET, and SRBs. The expected time to launch would be 35 days, as that was the requirement to prepare launch facilities.{{r|rescue_book|pp=89–91}} Before the arrival of the rescue mission, the stranded crew would power up the damaged orbiter, which would be remotely controlled as it was undocked and deorbited, and its debris would land in the Pacific Ocean.{{r|rescue_book|p=62}} The minimal crew would launch, dock with the ISS, and spend a day transferring astronauts and equipment before undocking and landing.<ref name="rescue_book">{{cite web
  | title = Contingency Shuttle Crew Support (CSCS)/Rescue Flight Resource Book
  | publisher = NASA
  | date = July 12, 2005
| url = https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/153444main_CSCS_Resource_%20Book.pdf
  | id = JSC-62900
  | accessdate = December 16, 2022
| archive-date = December 16, 2022
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221216112212/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/153444main_CSCS_Resource_%20Book.pdf
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=89–91}}