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.
When space travel goes wrong â Three Soviet cosmonauts were found dead in their Soyuz 11 spacecraft after an apparently normal landing in June 1971. When space travel goes wrong â Seven crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger were killed in January 1986 when the spacecraft exploded shortly after takeoff.