[big bad easter bunny]

You aren't looking for apology reparations are you?

[joesnuffy]

ewe ewe ewe he said sheepishly

[Poohbah]

The department in charge of rendering any sort of apology to ambulance chasing scum is managed by Ms. Helen Waite.

So go to Helen Waite for your apology.

[clintonh8r]

"Noone"? This is series!

[Cicero]

If you put a chip on your shoulder, someone is sure to knock it off.

I missed the original thread, but if you got flamed it was probably more a matter of the tone of your comments than the substance. A lot of us agree that NASA got into a pretty sorry state at the top levels during the clinton years, and a lot of us know that bureaucrats reflexively cover their *sses.

Besides, sometimes people get flamed for no good reason at all. Take it in stride. That's life.

[Palladin]

When you're right, you're right. Give yourself a pat on the back.

I didn't see your posts on the shuttle disaster. I would have agreed with you. The minute I saw and heard Sean O'Keefe I said "There's a guy who's in major CYA mode. We're not going to get the truth from him."

Besides, he appeared so unprofessional that day....in a red golf shirt. The least he could've done was to put on a shirt and tie, out of respect for the astronauts who had just been incinerated due to his incompetence.

[Jhoffa_]

"I cited my experience as an attorney and the thousands and thousands of questions/answers I had experience in tense legal situations.

I was flamed over and over again. My registration date was cited to attack my opinion. My profession as a lawyer was cited to attack me personally and my opinion."

Oh my..

PS:

Hey, what's black and brown and looks great on an attorney?

[Thinkin' Gal]

My first post on this forum was in relation to the initial Nasa Press Conference after the horrible disaster.

And...

Remember the Bush-Gore election? I was the first person on this forum, or ANY forum for that matter, who posted a warning that Gore was going to attempt to selectively challenge vote tallies in heavily democratic areas, and that Gore might WIN the election by doing that.

Hmmm.

[tupac]

Ain't it great though? Don't let the bastards get you down.

[bvw]

Stick around. Your trained gut sense was right. We have a lot of too-quick to the "abuse button" screaming ninnies around here some times. We need more folks like you -- with that intuition tuned by experience.

Truth backs you up, even when 400 falsifiers jump all over you. Have more faith in that.

Stick around, don' bear a grudge, and don't vainly complain. Bear with it.

You weren't the only one reamed by the pack mentality those days -- there were many, maybe most, a few who spoke and many scared to silence. You were bold, and I hope you can keep it up.

[libsrscum]

Bronco,

I didn't flame you, insult you or call you names. I'm sorry some did. Hang in there. I appreciate your input.

[mdittmar]

My first post on this forum was in relation to the initial Nasa Press Conference after the horrible disaster.

You know what? This isn't the first time that I have been personally attacked and flamed for showing up with an unpopular opinion or forecast. Remember the Bush-Gore election? I was the first person on this forum, or ANY forum for that matter, who posted a warning that Gore was going to attempt to selectively challenge vote tallies in heavily democratic areas, and that Gore might WIN the election by doing that.

[smokeyjon]

I wasn't here when you got flamed, however, I want to clear some things up that you said. This is NOT a defense OR indictment of NASA. It's simply some items you should consider:

1. Thermal tiles physically CANNOT be repaired in orbit. Not only is it impossible to do, the shuttle does not even carry spares.

2. The astronauts could NOT have made an EVA to check for tile or structural damage, even if they wanted to. Besides the fact that, due to the nature of Columbia's mission, the necessary EVA equipment was not on board, there are no handholds or other EVA "aids" on the wings or underside of the shuttle. Gene Cernan (Apollo 17) was almost killed during his Gemini EVA because no one had thought to add handholds to the craft.

3. Assuming that NASA knew of critical, irrepairable damage, nothing could have been done. Again due to Columbia's mission profile, a rendezvous with the ISS was impossible. It would have taken too long to prep another shuttle, and Russia can barely produce two 3-man Soyuz ships per year. Unfortunately, the choices would have been to strand them in orbit, or risk re-entry anyway.

Unfortunately, IF NASA knew about it ahead of time, there was nothing that could have been done. Whether or not they theorized, proposed, or were absolutely certain of significant risk beforehand is immaterial to the actual disaster. If nothing else, this brought to light not only the inherent flaws in STS, but the known and accepted risks of spaceflight. Don't think that those 7 astronauts were not aware that critical damage to the ship meant almost certain death.

[fooman]

We all got flamed on this issue.

Take heart. We all want NASA to be safe and effecrive.

Hopefully, o'Keefe will get nuked next. Bill Nelson was on o'reilly about these emails today..

[yooper]

"I wrote "It wouldn't be the first time someone in a government-funded program or agency skirted the truth in order to justify their mistakes, or to avoid negative fallout."

An excellent example of moderator complex. No reason why this post shouldn't have stayed.

[TomServo]

Noone asked him if tiles could be repaired.

Was it this Noone?

[mhking]

Where's the "nanny, nanny, boo, boo?"

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

My first post on this forum was in relation to the initial Nasa Press Conference after the horrible disaster.

Remember the Bush-Gore election? I was the first person on this forum, or ANY forum for that matter, who posted a warning that Gore was going to attempt to selectively challenge vote tallies in heavily democratic areas, and that Gore might WIN the election by doing that.

Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh signed up 2003-02-01.

Well, which one is the truth, shyster? Are you this sloppy in court?

[Semper911]

I didn't flame you, but I apologize for all the others here who did. My advice: Let it go.

[Physicist]

Nasa E-mails prove that Nasa knew - and I told you so

The emails prove no such thing, but in any case, did you tell us so? Here's what you said:

I don't know what he knows or doesn't know.

So you didn't "tell us so".

Here's what else you said:

Between several of his responses, the "theme" was "Nothing could have been done to repair tile damage" - I don't believe that for a minute. Regardless, who cares if it couldn't have been repaired? That is NO justification for failing to fully investigate before re-entry.

There was no way to repair any damage, or even to investigate to any meaningful degree whether there was any damage in the first place. But hey, you believe what you like.