Posted on 03/17/2018 8:36:30 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Close up video and analysis of the Challenger STS-51L explosion. A very good analysis. The best I have seen.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I saw this disaster in person from just south in Melbourne, FL. Going to lunch with coworkers we pulled off the road to watch the launch. What a terrible thing.
In a little over 2 weeks, the next FReepathon will begin.
We need to finish this one first.
Come on FReepers, lets do this!!!
Thanks for that.
pivoting slightly...
Richard Feynman talks about the O ring
https://youtu.be/8qAi_9quzUY
(0:29)
Saw this earlier but decided not to post it since I was close to the event. Still painful after all these years. Same with Columbia. Too close.
Excellent
I was employed in Saudi Arabia on that day and still recall how Saudi Engineers (graduates of US colleges) High-fived each other with glee.
I was in college at University of Florida when the first Space Shuttle launch happened. The first attempt was on a week end and I drove down from Gainesville to watch, but the launch was scrubbed. I skipped school and watched the successful launch from the side of US 1 near Titusville, FL.
In my work in the aerospace industry I got to know people that worked on the Space Shuttle program and got to see two night launches from the VIP area.
A truly sad day in my life as it was to ALL Americans. We had TVs throughout our High School for the event. I remember President Reagan was always a true leader even in such difficult times.
Why do we give these countries aid and let them come here?
I was visiting my aunt in Melbourne at the time. She had been a secretary for NASA contractors for years and got a launch pass for me. Saw it from the causeway just south of the launchpad. Couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
You are kidding? Isn’t that terrible that they celebrated? Talk about keeping the news hidden.
I saw it too. It was a very terrible thing to see. It causes me pain to this day. I know the NSA person who had the Space Shuttle communication Crypto device recovered from the ocean floor that was stored in his safe until he retired.
Several NASA management personnel lost their professional heads as a result of the investigation. The air temperature was too cold for launch, but they were in a hurry. The silicone O ring seals holding the solid rocket segments together became stiff due to the cold and could not do their job. live propellant burned through a gap and then the main fuel tank.
Whats a crypto device?
A crypto device encrypts communication so that foreign entities cannot read our messages.
I know a lot about this. The solid rocket booster propellant was a Hydroxyl Terminated Poly Butadine (HYPB) and aluminum dust type of propellant that had been shown to be unstable at low temperature from an accident rocket motor explosion that I worked on myself. It turned out that this explosion was not the same cause that I worked on, but the risk was known.
Proper spelling of solid propellant type is Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene.
what exactly was the super important mission
that was planned for this flight?
my criticism of the space shuttle program
was that it was 90% joyriding
I don't know if there was a secret motive for the Space Shuttle. If I had to guess it would be research for space based defense and observation capabilities.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.