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.
Left unchecked, that loss of speed would eventually cause the ISS to fall back to Earth in a meteoric reentry and break up. Thatâs exactly what happened with Sky Lab back in July 1979. So every once in awhile they need to boost its orbit back to where it should be.