Shuttle Contact LOST-No Tracking Data During RE-Entry!

Nasa TV | 02/01/03 | GRRRR

[GRRRRR]

Shuttle has NOT been heard from or seen on tracking radar since 0800Hrs CDT. No contact at Merrit Island tracking station, no voice comm...DEVELOPING.

[sweetliberty]

No, I don't think there has been anything quite this close, although I have heard that debris has been found in 3 counties just southwest of us. I am about 200 miles north of Shreveport.

[Norman Arbuthnot]

I see the administrators at DU actually posted a statement claiming that they don't hold Bush responsible for this disaster. I guess that that there are so many DUers that have posted comments that suggest that Bush is to blame that the people who run DU felt it was necessary to distance themselves from the very substantial segment of their own membership that is obviously insane and depraved.

[Alberta's Child]

Excellent post.

Apollo I occurred in 1967. The Challenger was lost in 1986, and now the Columbia is lost in 2003.

I hate to me clinical about this, but we should probably be prepared for a catastrophic event like this every 15-20 years.

Even worse -- it should be noted when these incidents occurred. Launch pad, then take-off, and now re-entry. At some point there is going to be a harrowing disaster of this sort right on the landing strip, and another one in orbit itself.

The most heart-wrenching one would be an incident in orbit in which everyone on the ground and in the spacecraft was aware of a catastrophic event that would unavoidably unfold over the course of many hours. My understanding is that NASA was prepared for such a thing in 1969 on the first lunar mission, and their protocol at the time would have been to cut all contact off with the crew members even if they were expected to survive for many more hours.

[lodwick]

Huge BTTT - thanks.

[Betty Jo]

Could "Worldspace" the satellite owned by among others,Mahfouz and Al-Amoudi,funders of Bin Laden,have had a laser do some work this morning?

Or perhaps some puter hacking?

Such a co-inky-dinky!

Right before the war starts,an Israeli Air Force hero who was part of the team that did in Sadams reacter gets blown up.

An American national tragedy.

[Archangelsk]

Even worse -- it should be noted when these incidents occurred. Launch pad, then take-off, and now re-entry. At some point there is going to be a harrowing disaster of this sort right on the landing strip, and another one in orbit itself.

This tracks with the aviation accident data and statistics collected by NTSB. The T/O and landing phase of flight account for a majority of the accidents, cruise phase is about 6%.

[Right_in_Virginia]

"..anyway, they're having a happy time over in the land of the religion of peace."

Despicable; - but not surprising.

I'm inclined to let them play out their last party.

[Don W]

Lebanon has a tree that LOOKS like a pine, but is a Cedar (cedrum libani, to be precise) on its flag.

[sweetliberty]

"I don't know which is worse, that DU post or knowing that somewhere in Gaza there are people dancing in the streets just like on 9/11."

What's the difference. The same spirit is in them.

[lodwick]

Great - thanks for the report.

Stay safe, stay armed.

[joanie-f]

The comment made by the CNN guy (‘You just lost most of the audience’ .... as regards the engineer's references to F=ma, etc.) reveals two basic truths about these types: (1) letters, to them, are simply to be strung together to deceive the masses (any other use of them – even in elementary algebra – is incomprehensible), and (2) they speak for all of us (their view of anything represents the view of most of the audience).

The terms haughty, condescending, and arrogant come to mind. (Not to mention unjustifiably. :)

[sweetliberty]

"I came here to talk about and pray for the crew. I thought we'd put our differences aside on politics on this sad day. I feel really dirty and ashamed right now."

Even if this one isn't already banned over there I still suspect she will be a FReeper soon.

[wasp69]

Jay Barbree onj NBC is reporting that some of the sensors went out just before the loss of contact. The shuttle's festooned with the things, so knowing what sensors went first might be very helpful in determining what happened if not why it happened.

Ok, I am not a scientist (nor do I play one on television), but I have a question for those who are and may have more knowledge than me.

Did anyone see the video of the shuttle close up before it came apart? When I saw it, I thought "wait a minute, am I supposed to be seeing the stern of this craft?" After the close up, the camera zoomed out and then.... Now, We all pretty much know that the shuttle puts it's nose in the air and uses it's bottom to slow down. We have also learned that while the nose is up, the pilot does banking maneuvers to bleed off speed.

The NASA officials said that they got "off the scale low" readings from several sensors and they said that to observers those readings would look as if "the wires were cut." While I am not a scientist, I am an electronics tech and to me those indications say the wires were disconnected by some means. In this case I'm thinking burnt through.

In the particular video shot I am referring to, we should have seen either the top or the bottom of the shuttle and not the rear.

If they were making banking maneuvers and wiring harnesses were burnt through enough to make the elevators on the left side fail, wouldn't the air pressure and speed cause the shuttle to yaw enough so they were coming down sideways and wouldn't that cause enough strain on the airframe to cause it to come apart?

What say all of you?

[alnick]

Since the Admin Moderator okayed posting about DU on this thread only, I'll comment.

I have followed a couple of your links and I have to say that I have never seen such a collection of self-deluded fools gathered in one place in my entire life.

These people are so full of hate that they don't seem to be able to function. There's no basis in reality for anything that they say. They refer to a mountain of evidence that Bush had something to do with 9/11. I seriously believe that they cannot tell the difference between reality and their own wishful thinking.

[lodwick]

The terms haughty, condescending, and arrogant come to mind.

No wonder CNN's ratings are in the dumpster - to me, they are unwatchable.

[Alberta's Child]

LOL -- point taken.

I've been a critic of the shuttle program for a long time, not because of the "big government" or "world government" aspects of it but because it is terribly costly no matter how you look at it.

Understand that much of the shuttle program does not involve "space exploration" -- it is largely to support commercial activities such as satellite launches, etc. And it amounts to an enormous subsidy to the companies that use it, because it would be much cheaper for a company like AT&T to use a Chinese rocket or one of the French Arianne rockets to do the same thing.

[sweetliberty]

"all of them look energetic, happy, smiling, young and it is heartbreaking to look at their beautiful faces"

I was struck by this too when I first saw their pictures. I was stunned to discover that all (I believe) are over 40.

[Cboldt]

Gotta defend my position. Not gonna be branded something I am not.

LOL. You're being branded as someone who's gotta defend their position.

[sweetliberty]

"I don't believe this."

Actually it seems to be being confirmed that there are human remains in east Texas. There is a hearse on scene at one of the locations. Does seem unreal, but then this whole day does.

[Alberta's Child]

I think you raise good points, but as an engineer I'd have to point something out here.

Even if they were able to dock at the ISS, it is very possible that whatever damage was done would not have been discernable or would not have yielded any information beyond what the NASA observers on the ground were able to deduce from looking at the video of the launch.

Someone had to make a decision here on a moment's notice (unlike the Challenger disaster, which involved plenty of thought ahead of time), and I have a hard time criticizing them for it.

In fact, it would not surprise me if we learn someday that NASA knew there was a potential problem with tile damage during the launch but decided that the other alternatives would have been more risky than taking a chance on a safe re-entry.