Posted on 02/01/2003 6:16:05 AM PST by GRRRRR
Then some people here are not smart enough to figure out that this is pure garbage. Go see how big Palestine TX is, I have. How high was the Craft? Please.... refuse to be duped
A command post has been set up in Palestine, Texas, doofus, as debris has been found there.
You're not very smart, pal. You also don't know much about Texas.
I wouldn't say it's God....
But I do think someone/something is testing him.
If the shuttle was spinning out of control, then odds are the crew was unable to correct it (meaning they could have already died due to internal failures such as pressure, oxygen, etc.)
Rick Hauck, the commander of the first shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster, is on MSNBC right now. He is speculating on two theories. What is interesting is the order of his speculation. The first one is not the loss of tiles, but the pitch attitude (40 degrees) on reentry and a possible loss of stable longitudinal control. He further stated that this is controlled and stabilized by small reentry rockets which line the shuttle up in the correct attitude. Unless I miss my guess, this is not a manual input from the pilot, but is done automatically by the onboard systems. I am quite sure that the code will be looked at during the investigation.
Crack issue not settled, but shuttle chief optimistic Columbia will launch on time
By Chris Kridler
FLORIDA TODAY
CAPE CANAVERAL -- Shuttle managers aren't yet satisfied with tests on parts like one that was cracked in Discovery, but the shuttle program chief is optimistic Columbia will launch Jan. 16 as scheduled. "The shuttle is OK to fly in every other respect," said Jessica Rye, a spokeswoman for shuttle contractor United Space Alliance. "But a decision on whether the parts are safe won't come until a review Tuesday."
Shuttle mission managers held a formal launch readiness review on Thursday at Kennedy Space Center, but they decided more testing was needed before Columbia is cleared for launch, shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore said.
"We don't have any real indications that look like this is going to be a show-stopper for us," he said.
Shuttle managers will review data from tests Sunday afternoon to make sure they are ready to proceed with the countdown, which gets under way overnight Sunday. The crew goes into quarantine today and will fly into Kennedy Space Center on Sunday.
The cracked part was a ball in a support inside a liquid oxygen line in Discovery, found during the orbiter's continuing overhaul. Inspectors found no cracks in Columbia, Atlantis or Endeavour.
There are three sizes of balls in liquid oxygen and hydrogen line supports, called ball strut tie rod assemblies. They range from 2 1/4 inches to 1 1/4 inches, and there are 18 in each shuttle.
Since Columbia is on the launch pad, shuttle managers hope to avoid inspecting it, which could cause a launch delay. Instead, they want to be sure that even if any of the balls are cracked, they won't pose a danger to the orbiter.
Laboratory tests were used to induce surface cracks in spare parts, and engineers experienced with similar problems -- namely, the cracked fuel-pipe liners that grounded the fleet last summer -- found their expertise useful in analyzing the balls, Dittemore said.
"The most likely scenario is that we have a ball in a vehicle that has a small surface defect, and that, under load, over time, has propagated into a small crack," he said.
New inspection techniques found small defects in spare balls that were missed two decades ago when the shuttles were put into operation, he said.
There are no immediate plans to remove the cracked ball from Discovery, he said, but NASA will have to evaluate whether some balls should be replaced if the shuttles are expected to fly for 20 more years. < /end of story >
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This story says cracks weren't found in Columbia, but Columbia wasn't even inspected.
Heartbroken in Miami...
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