Jul 7 1996
From The Space Library
Shuttle Columbia landed at KSC in Cape Canaveral, Florida, ending the longest Space Shuttle mission ever. The mission, lasting nearly 17 days, set a new space endurance record for the crew. The astronauts had bested their previous record by nearly 7 hours. Columbia had carried into space a torch for the 1996 Olympic relay, and upon landing, two members of the crew joined the Olympic torch relay team in a special ceremony. The astronauts had overcome several small malfunctions to conduct the successful mission and land the Shuttle on time. Less than 2 hours before the Shuttle's scheduled arrival, the crew had discovered a clogged cooling line, but the astronauts were able to flush ice from the system to clear the line. In addition, the mission brought to light a potential ongoing problem for Columbia. In studying the launch, NASA officials had observed gas and flames issuing from the rocket boosters, probably through the O-ring joints used to connect the booster's fuel segments. Although Columbia's crew was not in danger, NASA officials decided that the Shuttle would not launch again until scientists had determined how well the new water-based adhesive would function under extreme heat. NASA had discontinued the adhesive used previously on the rocket boosters, because the adhesive was an ozone-depleting agent.
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