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Return To Flight | Dr. James F. Peters
Narrative non-fiction book about the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, working for NASA on the return to flight missions, and consulting services.
Columbia Accident, Columbia Disaster, Return to Flight, Space Shuttle Program, Manned Spaceflight, Human Space Flight, Foam Debris, Johnson Space Center
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Nonfiction Book

by

Dr. James Peters


Dr.

You have seen the movies The Right Stuff and Apollo 13. Perhaps you’ve read some books about the space program, probably one about the Apollo “glory days.” Captivating and inspirational stuff, for sure, and even more so when portrayed on screen by talented actors. But America’s exploration of space didn’t end with the Apollo program. The challenges, the successes, the bravery, and the heroes that we all saw in the Apollo program were multiplied many times in the Shuttle Program. This is the story of the most difficult period in the history of the Shuttle Program, a period of self-doubt, reflection, fear, and anguish, during which astronauts, engineers, and scientists had to work together to ensure a third shuttle disaster would not light up the sky. They had to work together to prove that the destruction of Challenger and Columbia were not in vain. Difficult lessons were learned. Hard decisions were made. This is the story of the people who made them, told by an engineer who was at the center of the Space Shuttle Return to Flight missions.

  • On February 4, 2003, President George W. Bush addresses the crowd on the mall of the Johnson Space Center during the memorial for the Columbia astronauts. Seated from the left are Captain Gene Theriot, Chaplain Corps (USN); NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe; and astronaut Kent V. Rominger, Chief of the Astronaut Office. A portrait of the STS-107 Columbia crew is visible at left. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • Flowers and Memorial gifts for the Columbia Crew line the entrance to Johnson Space Center shortly after the accident. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • At 81.9 seconds after launch of STS-107, a chunk of foam from the External Tank dislodged and struck the leading edge of Challenger's left wing like an exploding snowball. The accident investigation team estimated the chunk of foam to be traveling between 400 and 600 mph relative to the orbiter. This impact breached the wing and doomed Columbia. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • Picture of the test article from the foam debris impact testing at Southwest Research Labs in San Antonio, Texas. A large piece of foam comparable in size to the bipod foam and shot at similar impact conditions leaves a substantial breach in the RCC panel. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • Workers in Mission Control wait for a signal from the Columbia crew minutes before the scheduled landing on February 1, 2003. The signal never comes and entry flight director Leroy Cain holds his hand over his face when he realizes Columbia is lost. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • The Orbiter has a large glowing field surrounding it in this view taken from Hewitt, Texas, looking north. Streaks of debris across the early morning Texas sky as Columbia breaks up on re-entry. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • Shuttle wreckage strategically placed in a hanger at KSC. The grid patterns and shuttle outline were used as dimensional referencing to aid in the reconstruction and accident investigation. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • A shocking overview of close-calls on prior missions and key indicators of debris issues that were ignored by NASA management. Prior to the Columbia Accident, the Orbiter averaged over 150 debris impacts per flight.
  • In the Vehicle Assembly Building, United Space Alliance technicians Brenda Morris and Brian Williams are applying foam and molds on Space Shuttle Atlantis' external tank to areas damaged by hail on STS-117. The freak storm and hail damage would be the start of bizarre events about to unfold for NASA in 2007. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • A picture of “Tankenstein”. The cursed ET-120 External Tank being transported.
  • Orbiter tile damage example of “Close Calls” caused by foam debris impacts during launch. This is one of several “close calls” from debris strikes that could have led to catastrophic damage. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • On the first Return to Flight mission (STS-114), cameras show a grainy view of a large hat-shaped piece of foam from the hydrogen tank protuberance air load (PAL) ramp. It was shown releasing at 129 seconds into flight. Although the foam debris did not hit the orbiter, reconstructions later showed the risk of this release to be as high as one in five. As a result, the Space Shuttle was grounded again and would not fly for another year. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • This shows a rare picture of two shuttles (Atlantis and Endeavour) ready for launch in preparation of the Hubble Repair Mission on STS-125. Because the Hubble Space Telescope was at a higher altitude and different orbital inclination than the Space Station, the crew could not use the Station as a safe-haven if there was a debris strike. As a result, another shuttle was made ready for launch in the event a rescue mission was needed. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • With only five shuttle flight remaining on the Program and all the foam debris problems presumably “fixed”, a series of major foam failures was experienced on STS-127. In what was termed the “Perfect Debris Storm”, the red circles indicate all the locations where large pieces of foam released from the tank. (Courtesy of NASA)
  • One of the more perplexing debris strikes to the Orbiter occurred on STS-118. At fifty-eight seconds into flight, one of the SRB cameras recorded debris originating from the feed line bracket. The debris traveled aft, impacted the thrust strut, and broke into multiple debris pieces that subsequently struck the orbiter. It was originally classified it as something other than foam and later determined to be mixed foam and ice debris. (Courtesy of NASA)

Return to Flight is a true-life story that involves a historical shuttle disaster that killed seven astronauts. The story describes the passion and dedication from the men and women who, in the wake of the Columbia disaster, supported this nation’s Manned Space Program and strived to make the next Shuttle mission the safest ever flown. It is narrated by Dr. James F. Peters, who served as the Shuttle Debris Integration Chair. He was responsible for correcting the debris problems that led to the Columbia Accident on STS-107 and Returning the Shuttle Fleet to operational flight status. During the first Return to Flight mission, STS-114, he led a large team of NASA engineers and contractors dedicated toward working and solving debris issues. The job delved into the abstract world of probabilistic risk assessment and advanced analytic modeling to determine the safety of flight risk and whether to jeopardize the well-being of the astronaut crew and the Space Shuttle. The very existence of the Shuttle Program hinged in the balance.

 

The debris team did the difficult and when asked to do the impossible, it just took them a little longer. After the Columbia Accident in February, 2003, debris was identified as the highest risk to the Shuttle Program and remained the number one safety of flight issue for the next eleven flights. Each mission posed its own set of unique debris surprises and the only thing the debris team could count on was the unexpected.

Icon Quotation

  • "Return to Flight" is outstanding! Congratulations. The book is tremendous. It certainly covers the entire episode from tragedy to understanding. I found the descriptions complete and understandable. What is truly significant is that I believe that statement could be made by anyone even without technical training. Well done, Jim. You are to be especially complemented on the handling and writing of the opening chapter. It is dramatic, well-written, and in an understated way captures the pathos of the tragedy. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the space program whether an ordinary citizen or a worker in the field. Again, well done, Jim!

    Dr. Rocco Martino

  • Dr. Peters did an amazing job writing Return to Flight. The attention to detail really made it interesting and gave me a much more in depth perspective on an event that had such an impact on the space program.

    Rachel Holcomb - Teacher, Clear Creek School District near Johnson Space Center

  • Overall Return to Flight was a really interesting and in-depth look into NASA and its inner workings. Space programs capture so many people's imaginations. It was, therefore, a very savvy idea to write a book that offered those people a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the dramatic (and everyday) decisions that go into that organization. In many ways it created a sense of the overall NASA community. It's a relatively small pool of people, so the reader often felt as if he or she got to simply step into that inner circle. The interviews and quotations were a nice, clean, simple way to elicit that feeling. In that way it also feels less like one person's story (or stake in a story). Instead, it feels like a well-rounded, fully realized world.

    Liz - CreateSpace Editor

  • Return to Flight is excellent and I did not know my Dad could write so well. It was sad what happened to the astronauts and I can remember watching some of the return to flight launches at Kennedy Space Center. The book was very interesting and easy to understand. I could not wait to read the next chapter to see what happened next. It now beats out American Sniper as my favorite book.

    Keirnan Peters - (Author's 11-year old daughter)

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