Short Sharp Science: The crack that delayed Discovery

Short Sharp Science: The crack that delayed Discovery A missing chunk of foam insulation was responsible for the breakup of the shuttle Colombia as it re-entered the earth's atmosphere in 2003, causing the deaths of 7 astronauts.After the cracked foam was removed on Tuesday night, cracks were found in an underlying structure called a stringer. Similar cracks were found on an external tank set to be used by the shuttle Atlantis in 2011 and "may be related to the use of lightweight materials in the latest generation of tanks".