[ET(end tyranny)]

Don Nelson was at NASA for 36 years, part of the team for shuttle’s initial design and upgrades until he retired in 1999. Ah forget it, still probably not good enough for you.

[TLBSHOW]

NASA Discounted Damage to Shuttle Tiles

SPACE CENTER, Houston - While Columbia was still in orbit, NASA's "best and brightest" minds analyzed the potential damage done to its thermal tiles by a piece of debris during liftoff and concluded that the flight was in no danger, agency officials said Monday.

snip

The shuttle broke up 39 miles over Texas and fell to Earth just as it was experiencing maximum re-entry heat of 3,000 degrees. All seven astronauts aboard perished.


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=624&ncid=716&e=1&u=/ap/20030203/ap_on_sc/shuttle_investigation

Looks like they were way wrong again.

[TankerKC]

Do you just take the word of anyone?

What if I said that I have been in the Air Force for 22 years and then told you some very specific technical information about the F-34. Would you ask me further about my background, or just take it for granted that what I said was true?

It is natural to wonder. Some specifics would be nice. I think my questions are reasonable.