Could you please remind me of how the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (STS-107) affected the space program?

Question

For how long did NASA stop their space shuttle flights and how did it affect the long term-stay crew members that were on the ISS? Did they supply the station via the Soyuz TMA while the shuttle program was paused?

Anyway, my main question is,
how did this disaster affect the shuttle program at that time, and for how long did they stop the shuttle flights?

Answer 1

shuttle flights were halted for 2 and a half years after STS 107 and crew rotation was provided by the Soyuz TMA spacecraft however, there were no additional parts added to the station as, you've already mentioned, the shuttle fleet was grounded, and the shuttle is the main vehicle to bring components up due to it's large size...



prior to STS 107 NASA did not feel the need to inspect shuttles for damage after liftoff.. they felt it

unnecessary because there have been no prior incidents where foam came off and damaged a shuttle.



the main reasoning that they (NASA, according to them) did nothing is the fact that very little could have been done with the tools and materials on board the shuttle at the time...

Answer 2

They stopped shuttle flights for two and a half years. STS-107 happened in January 2003. The first flight after STS-107 was STS-114 in July 2005. The American astronauts who were on the ISS at the time (Kenneth Bowersox and Don Pettit) did return to Earth on a Soyuz spacecraft while the space shuttles were grounded.

Answer 3

Three ways. They discovered that tiles were dropping off like flies after each launch, whereas before they thought it was from reentry. Since then, they enacted a protocol to keep ices from forming on the liquid H fuel tank, which caused the "tiles dropping off like flies" during launch as the ice impacted them. Thridly, they now inspect the tiles on the space shuttle before each reentry.



This doesn't change the fate of the Shuttle program, however. It is long overdue for retirement.