A suspect bolt system is likely to undergo rigorous testing before the Space Shuttle returns to flight. A problem with the bolts that connect the solid rocket boosters to the external tank of the Shuttle - and the 'boltcatcher' system that traps pieces sheared at booster separation - were identified as having the potential to cause a 'Challenger-type' accident.
Following this warning to NASA and the US Congress in January 2002, a new company - as yet unidentified - was contracted to manufacture the bolt systems after the existing contractor, Hi-Shear, lost the contract.
Hi-Shear was so concerned about the quality of the new company's work that it notified NASA and Congress that the systems were "potentially faulty and guaranteed to cause disaster".
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) said on 12 June that the boltcatcher systems did not appear to have been properly tested and did not have adequate safety margins.
During the launch of the STS 107 Columbia mission - when ET foam was seen to hit the orbiter's wing, probably causing the damage that resulted in the craft's destruction during re-entry - a piece of debris was also seen on radar in the vicinity of the orbiter at SRB separation. This is thought to have been part of the bolt system that had not been caught in the boltcatcher system. This is not thought to have had any bearing on the Columbia accident, however.
Source: Flight Daily News
