Posted on 12/31/2008 1:34:25 PM PST by BuckeyeTexan
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts on the shuttle Columbia were trying to regain control of their craft before it broke apart in 2003, but there was no chance of surviving the accident, a NASA report said on Tuesday.
From the crew's perspective, the shift from what appeared to be a normal descent on Feb. 1, 2003, into tragedy happened so fast that the astronauts did not even have time to close the visors on their helmets.
Columbia broke apart about 20 kilometres over Texas as it headed for landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cause of the accident was traced to a hole in one of the shuttle's wings, which was hit by a piece of falling foam insulation during launch 16 days earlier.
Seven astronauts were killed when superheated atmospheric gases blasted inside the breach like a blow torch, melting the ship's structure.
(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...
And yet NASA gave the impression that the Shuttle was so safe they could send up a civilian school teacher to experience how wonderful it was.
Would McAuliffe and her family have been comfortable with her going, if it was explained that she would have a higher probability of dying than a US soldier faced while serving a tour in SouthEast Asia during the Vietnam War?
I can’t believe it has been 7 years either.
It was a sickening feeling. I remember walking through the rest of that day in high school in a complete fog. I think we were numb, especially since our favorite history teacher had been an alternate. That man changed forever that day.
I still have the newspaper (USA Today, I think) that published the Rogers Commission report in full.
Watching Columbia explode over DFW a lifetime later was no different for me. Same feeling.
I’ll catch ya next year for the 30th.
Wow! I'll bet he did.
I remember that day. Was in the barbershop getting a haircut with my son. They had the re entry on either the TV or radio.
They mentioned they hadn’t heard from the spacecraft for more than what I thought was normal; and I was pretty sure something pretty bad had happened.
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