PPE: Respirator Usage and Safety. A respirator is a personal protective device that is worn on the face. It covers the nose and mouth and is specifically designed to provide respiratory protection by forming a tight seal against the wearerâs skin. Respirators vary in their level of protection and efficiency to filter out airborne particles.
In 2003, Columbia disintegrated over Texas while returning from a 16-day trip to space. Later analysis found that a small bit of foam insulation that broke off an external fuel tank during launch had torn a hole in the orbiter's wing and led to the disaster. Gene Grush recounts the events from NASA's perspective.
CHALLENGER DISASTER. CHALLENGER DISASTER. Perhaps no tragedy since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 had so riveted the American public as did the explosion of the space shuttleChallenger on 28 January 1986, which killed its seven-member crew.