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With an eye on the future of American spaceflight, NASA is releasing the first pieces of Space Shuttle Columbia debris to the aerospace industry for research. NASA believes permitting access to the debris will allow manufacturers to design and build safer, more efficient and reliable components for future spacecraft. 'As part of the reconstruction and the investigation, the folks who were supporting the investigation came in and were taking a lot of notes and responding: 'Hey, there's a lot neat science that can be taken from Columbia not related to the accident.' ' In response to the enthusiasm shown by the investigators, NASA asked that companies interested in viewing Columbia contact the Agency. An impressive 20 companies announced interest in studying the Shuttle. The first company outside of the Agency to receive portions of Columbia is The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California. The company will spend the next year studying eight storage tanks associated with Columbia's propulsion system. The tanks are made of a graphite_epoxy composite and range in size from a large beach ball to a kitchen table top. Company researchers are interested in seeing how the skins weathered the shuttle's superheated passage through the Earth's atmosphere. Specifically, the researchers will try to estimate Columbia's maximum temperature by factoring in the weight, shape and recovery location of the components. This information will help to calibrate tools and models used to predict how composite materials and spacecraft will behave durng reentry. In time, more pieces of Columbia are expected to be loaned for testing and used to expand our understanding of the rigors of spaceflight. The mission of Space Shuttle Columbia continues today by shedding light on the reentry process and creating a foundation for the spacecraft of tomorrow.