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	+ NASA Home + NASA GRC Home + R&T Directorate Home + Structures Division Home + Life Prediction Branch Home		Branch personnel are playing a key role in the critical NASA-wide investigations for the Space Shuttle return to flight efforts. These extensive research efforts will ensure that Space Shuttle flights will be much safer when they resume. Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Investigations Researchers are studying the microstructure of the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) material that protects the Space Shuttle wing leading edge and nose cap, where the highest temperatures are reached on reentry, to gain a deeper understanding of how the panel material degrades with each mission and how this deterioration affects safe mission limits. + Read Article (695 kb pdf) External Tank Foam Analysis and Modeling Researchers are developing accurate models to describe the mechanical behavior of the Space Shuttle's External Tank foams under all possible thermal and mechanical environments that may be encountered prior to and during launch. Ply Lifting in Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) Nozzle Insulation Researchers are developing models to describe the complex physics and thermo-mechanical response behavior of the Space Shuttle's RSRM nozzle insulation, an ablative liner that is exposed to extreme temperature and heating rates during motor operation. Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPV) Safety Issues Researchers are establishing a reliable flight rationale that will ensure the reliability of the individual as well as the system of composite overwrapped pressure vessels on the Space Shuttle. NASA's Return to Flight website + Visit the website NASA History Office: Remembering Columbia STS-107 + Visit the website Columbia STS-107 Web site + Visit the website
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