Posted on 04/04/2010 6:02:23 PM PDT by KevinDavis
I saw the flashes right after liftoff; they were more visible on the far-side pad camera, showing the side of the tank instead of the back of the shuttle. Right as the stack started to roll there were two or three ‘hits’ in the stream.
I didn’t see it, but not doubting what you saw.
Inspection will reveal all.
Its probably like NASCAR when they come into the turns and let up on the accelerator. You always see flames coming out the sidepipes.
And...NASA TV says this was the last time for a “rookie” astronaut to fly about the Shuttle. There are 3 rookies aboard, and no more after this.
I just hope they were insulation, and not tiles.
On the replay I saw:
T+~4m (SRBS+1-2m): 5 large and two or three small bits swirl through the exhaust. These would likely be foam from the external tank during a phase of high aerodynamic acceleration. The question is did they hit anything?
T+9 at EFT sep: 3 pieces appeared to float away from the EFT lower strut after separation.
T+9-10: Shortly after EFT sep, I saw three or four bits clearly floating away from above the orbiter. This is not a place or time for ice or foam. That leaves top tiles. I won’t panic either but I want to be on record. I’m certain there will be questions at the PLPC.
If we keep the current crop of miscreants and losers in DC you’ll be right, at least for NASA.
If anything came off that early, no telling what the airstream could have caught hold of at maximum aerodynamic stress.
The computers might even have caught gyro anomalies and had to rebalance engine thrusts.
The bits I saw were around the T+0.5m mark, just as the stack is starting to roll over.
NASA News Conference on deck; 07:30EDT.
Probably some Easter marshmallow peeps the maintenance guys set on the bird to get roasted by the main engines as they fall off during launch.
Downplaying foam losses.
“Foam loss at 4m and after does not have the aerodynamic acceleration to do damage.”
Did not address material lost, apparently from the orbiter, after EFT separation (+9-10m).
No mention of it (T+0:30).
It was AMAZING...So glad I read this thread before going to bed last night because we wouldn’t have known about it otherwise.
No heavy lift capability to replace the shuttle. No idea what they’re going to do about that. They’re doing phase I systems analysis: define the project scope.
Yep, have to check back later.
Got to head out. Thanks all for the info.
I had forgotten about it till I got online here early early.
FR has everything I need to know about everything important going on in the world.
What was that mini shuttle thingy they showed on FNC. Unmanned, large enough for small satellites, able to stay up for up to 3 month. Sounds like an interesting combination for the defense business.
There was kind of a smiling emphasis from Mission Control on “Good copy” when they heard the first readout from Naoko Yamazaki.
I don’t think they were expecting her to be handling the comm :-)
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.