COLUMBIA COVERUP?

New York Post ^ | February 7, 2003 | STEVEN MILLOY

[Tom D.]

February 7, 2003 -- WE may never know precisely what happened to Columbia, but one thing is clear: NASA shouldn't be in charge of investigating itself. NASA now doubts that foam debris caused the disaster. That's a major shift from days ago, when foam was the "leading candidate" - an explanation that quickly became embarrassing.

[Tom D.]

Environmentalists kill. Here we have some of our best and brightest killed because politicians and bureaucrats are afraid to stand up to the zero tolerance crowd and say CFC's are necessary. As a result, seven people are dead, but this is a drop in the bucket. How many people are dead for want of DDT? How many people die each year because of CAFE standards? It is time for the public to realize that the feel good, half-witted measures forced down our throats by the environmental Nazis have a real cost not just in dollars, but in terms of lives.

[mewzilla]

So why didn't NASA put it's collective foot down? Blame the greenies, but I didn't see NASA kicking and screaming.

[facedown]

bump

[bmwcyle]

From the Data

[winodog]

I was under the impression the freon was used to "glue" the foam to the tank. This article say's the foam was made with freon. Any experts out there to clear this up?

[RossA]

It appears the politicians are taking over the investigation.

All the stories about foam falling off and destroying tiles made the Shuttle design look like a piece of garbage(sometimes the truth emerges).

I say fire them all.

[Sacajaweau]

NASA is investigating itself as well as a group of outside experts. It is the same type of forum which was created before, I think under Reagan, when we had another disaster.

The Bush administration searched back to see what was done then and followed the same course of investigation.

Conspiracy, incompetence?? Let's be real. There are a million things that could happen discounting human error. There are so many variables that it boggles the ordinary mind. Space travel progresses on the wings of a dream, technology and a prayer.

From the Kitty Hawk to the moon in such a short time. Phenominal!! What Dreamers we are!!! How brave our astronauts are!!

[Lib Buster]

I'm not an expert, but the foam insulation is sprayed on and adheres much better when formulated with freon.

[exit82]

"From Kitty Hawk to the moon in such a short time!"

About 66 years, less than a lifetime.

From Alan Shephard to the moon---a little more than 8 years.

But it seems that in the last thirty years, not much has happened. Nothing along the rate of avaiation and space change experienced in the thirty years previous to 1972.

[DCPatriot]

"...From Alan Shephard to the moon---a little more than 8 years."

You believe we actually *WENT* to the moon??

< /sarcasm >

[aristeides]

In 2001, the EPA exempted NASA from the CFC phase-out: The shuttle's use wasn't important. Most CFC use was in consumer products (including air conditioners, refrigerators, aerosol cans, etc.). Yet NASA didn't return to the safer Freon-based foam. Instead, it continued to risk tile damage and disaster with PC-foam.

Hmmm. Smoking foam?

I heard on the radio this morning that the investigation is being transferred to a body independent of NASA. Somebody was listening.

[far sider]

Freon is a liquid when it is under pressure but a gas when released into the atmosphere. Think of foam as being like soap suds. Tiny air filled (or freon-filled) bubbles.

[Elenya]

I have to admit I was very disturbed to hear this morning that the camera pointed at the left wing of the shuttle had been left out of focus. Can anybody confirm?

[sam_paine]

Death by Environmentalism?

[TLBSHOW]

bttt

[Fred Mertz]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Hatteras]

"...the camera pointed at the left wing of the shuttle had been left out of focus."

FWIW, Don Imus had a reporter on his radio show this morning that said apparently one of the NASA technicians pulled a cord about 30 seconds after liftoff resulting in the blurred image. He added that NASA was extremely ticked off about it.

[Elenya]

Thanks for the info. Extremely wreckless at the very least.

[snopercod]

Gracey, I stand corrected.

Tom, see this post about the use of the "environmentally-friendly" solvents and adhesives causing O-ring blowby on the boosters. This has been covered up to a much greater extent than the ET foam, as a google.com search will confirm for you.

If you will continue to read in that thread, there is evidence that Marshall Space Flight Center wrote the specifications for these new cleaners so that only one company could qualify.

It would be interesting to know to whom these companies made political contributions, if any.

[TLBSHOW]

another news bit!

U.S. officials say no immediate information that terrorism involved in space shuttle loss

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030206/ap_wo_en_po/na_gen_us_space_shuttle_bush_1