Columbia's final minutes, in detail

Newday ^ | 1/27/04 | Michael Cabbage and William Harwood

[Gang of Five]

Heart-breaking. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

[NonValueAdded]

Also posted here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1065794/posts

[SamAdams76]

This means Columbia was doomed at liftoff. That week or so they spent in orbit was all for naught. The ending would have been the same no matter what.

I vaguely remember hearing about that foam breaking away after liftoff during the Shuttle flight last year and then the story just died. Does anybody else remember that?

[OldFriend]

Amen

[BenLurkin]

"The survivability study concluded relatively modest design changes might enable future crews to survive long enough to bail out."

[OldFriend]

Amen

[JoJo Gunn]

There's no registration problems with the Newsday site.

[Wumpus Hunter]

That's funny - I didn't see it mentioned anywhere that the foam that broke off was the new environmentally friendly stuff that doesn't harm the ozone layer like the foam we used to use.

[elbucko]

I vaguely remember hearing about that foam breaking away after liftoff during the Shuttle flight last year...

I also remember the mention of the foam at the beginning of the mission. I have also heard that the powers that be at NASA had changed the foams composition to a more "Environmentally Friendly" kind. If this is so, I would like to know.

However, one part of the shuttle disaster, that bothers me to this day, is the continued retention of Sean O'Keefe , the head of NASA. He may be a wonderful guy. He may contribute to charity. He may go to church often. But loosing a shuttle on your watch means you resign or you are asked to leave by the President. He can keep his retirement and benefits and have a pleasant post NASA life. But watching this Bozo toast the Mars landings on TV has given me fits that he has not resigned or been fired. He is, to me, the worst example of a government bureaucrat. He can fail at his job, good people die, expensive machinery lost and yet keep his position in spite of his shortcomings. IMHO, Sean O'Keefe is a disgusting human being.

BTW, the article was excellent. Great post. I remember being online on FR, as those who could see the events relayed them to those of us without view.

[colorado tanker]

Exactly. The foam formula was changed to be eco-friendly and after that NASA began experiencing problems with foam breaking off. This was not the first time - NASA knew there was a problem with the foam. This article avoids the root cause of the disaster because it's not p.c.

[spodefly]

Columbia BTTT.

[Rebelbase]

That was tough to read. It amazes me how the disaster conditions can be recreated to determine the exact stages of the disintegration.

[WI Conservative 4 Bush]

Amazing read.

The most enlightening part for me was the analysis of how much the foam slowed down in 0.2 seconds after falling off. In that 0.2 seconds, the speed disparity between the shuttle (accelerating) and the foam (decelerating) amounted to over 500 mph. Wow.

[TalBlack]

".....NASA knew there was a problem with the foam. This article avoids the root cause of the disaster because it's not p.c."

And because we do this over a BROAD RANGE of subjects--from law enforcement to the Military to the security of our borders etc, is why this Nation is in for some dark days indeed. The only question, really, is WHEN not IF...

[Rodney King]

"The most complicated machine ever built "

Somehow I doubt that given that it was designed like 30 years ago. Surely the B2 is more complicated.

[El Gran Salseron]

Ron Dittemore got the ax. The excuse was that he had planned on resigning after the successful landing of Columbia "to take a job with a civilian company" but "decided to stay on until the resolution of the Columbia disaster."

So I guess Dittemore was the "sacrificial lamb" instead of O'Keefe.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Does anybody else remember that?

Yes, vividly.

[norraad]

The foam is the problem!

It is directly related to the freon scam, that's why it will be buried.

To shed any light on it will uncover that r-12 products are better and safer than r134 products.

R-12 is still the most modern freon, r134 was developed years before r12 & shelved because it was corrosive and less efficient than r-12.

[Lazamataz]

Just: Wow.

[lepton]

That's funny - I didn't see it mentioned anywhere that the foam that broke off was the new environmentally friendly stuff that doesn't harm the ozone layer like the foam we used to use.

It wasn't widely discussed in the media, but it was discussed on FR. It was also noted that NASA had been granted a waiver about a year or so before the accident, but that no one produced the material any more.