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Online NewsHourSpace Shuttle: Return to FlightNewsHour Science Reports
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Return to Flight -- Shuttle Upgrades
In the two years since the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, NASA engineers have worked to modify more than 41 areas of the shuttle before the three remaining orbiters return to flight.
Click on the various parts of the shuttle below -- the orbiter, the external fuel tank and the solid rocket boosters -- to view some of the major changes intended to improve shuttle safety.
EXTERNAL TANK
SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER

ORBITER
EARTH		 Bolt Catchers
NASA engineers have redesigned these explosive bolts that fire soon after liftoff to separate the solid rocket boosters from the external fuel tank. Investigations have found that bolt debris could strike the orbiter causing damage. By making the new bolts out of a single piece rather than two welded pieces, engineers hope to reduce the danger.
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