Posted on 02/04/2013 11:34:30 AM PST by a fool in paradise
Ugly but true. They had no way in the world to repair the damage they KNEW existed but could only silently hope and pray that the crew could beat the odds.
Remember, he was in the same training group as the Pampers Lady, if I'm not mistaken.
I wonder if part of the problem at NASA may be that not all of the useful data and technical folks are gone YET.
Technology has changed dramatically over the years, and if you’re stuck with a bunch of 70-year-old engineers who rightfully hold their own intelligence in very high regard, it might be difficult to persuade them that you don’t have to build a rocket engine as a finely-crafted work of art anymore thanks to technology and materials advancement.
It’s not that incredible.
I saw Columbia’s remnants from a parking lot in North Austin (TX) on the way to a funeral for a guy who collected NASA memorabilia.
He actually had a blow-up shuttle at the grave site. 8o
The only solace I find in that is the crew died instantly. Not so for Challenger’s crew.
This doesn't make sense since they would undoubtedly have tried to get some better pictures which would have been taken by the astronauts themselves. Also the space shuttle could have stayed in orbit while they dispatched another shuttle or rocket with some repair materials. Or, if they were running out of supplies, they could have transferred the crew to the International Space Station.
The problem was that NASA talked themselves out of the need to investigate the potential damage more thoroughly.
The coincidence itself might not be incredible to you, but I can say with absolute certainty that both explosions were incredible to behold. I’d rather not have those images burned into memory.
I completely understand.
I saw Challenger on TV and that was plenty.
Reagan days...pride/patriotism...
...sure have lost a lot since : (
At that time I worked for a couple different aerospace mfg. firms, got to go to the Downey(?)facility where they had the mock-up shuttle, exhibits, etc. Remember receiving a letter from one of those firms I worked for, apparently one of our divisions manufactured the o-rings for the SRB.
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.