Shuttle Astronaut Lights Fires In Space

Admitting to a “streak of pyromania,” Columbia’s astronauts gleefully set small fires aboard the space shuttle on Saturday to help NASA design better smoke detectors and extinguishers for use in weightlessness. Pilot Scott Horowitz spent much of the day igniting small pieces of paper in an enclosed chamber. He was amazed at the flames’ intensity and how quickly they spread.

“Wow, look at that,” Horowitz said. “I wish when I was out doing my survival training … I could get a fire started that easy.”

The crew also burned insulating material to test smoke detectors used on shuttles and a prototype intended for the future space station.