United Space Alliance workers J.C. Harrison and Amy Mangiacapra guide a wrapped piece of Columbia debris through the Vehicle Assembly Building.

United Space Alliance workers J.C. Harrison (far left) and Amy Mangiacapra guide a wrapped piece of Columbia debris through the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it is stored. Alongside is NASA’s Scott Thurston, who is the Columbia debris coordinator. This piece is one of eight being released to The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, Calif., for testing and research. The Aerospace Corporation requested and will receive graphite/epoxy honeycomb skins from an Orbital Maneuvering System pod, Main Propulsion System Helium tanks, a Reaction Control System Helium tank and a Power Reactant Storage Distribution system tank. The company will use the parts to study re-entry effects on composite materials. NASA notified the Columbia crew’s families about the loan before releasing the items for study. Researchers believe the testing will show how materials are expected to respond to various heating and loads' environments. The findings will help calibrate tools and models used to predict hazards to people and property from reentering hardware. The Aerospace Corporation will have the debris for one year to perform analyses to estimate maximum temperatures during reentry based upon the geometry and mass of the recovered composite.