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.

[txradioguy]

Well it looks like the Buran is a No Go. I wonder if they could retro-fit the Enterprise and get the fleet back up to three aircraft? Would be cheaper than building a totally new shuttle.

[Alberta's Child]

Iw as an "instant expert" on that thread, but only because I was certain of what I had seen. It wasn't until someone pointed out that the video was taken by an amateur with a hand-held camcorder that I realized this wasn't one of those professional close-up shots like the ones you saw of the Challenger at 48,000 feet.

[lodwick]

My sil in Nacogdoches reports that their is debris all over their acreage. The local cops came and bagged and removed the smaller pieces and covered the heavier pieces with heavy paper and told them to keep them covered until NASA comes to collect it. (Who knows how long this may take?)

Nacogdoches is in the Piney Woods part of Texas with thick stands of pine and hardwood trees. Also, much of it is swamp land like you would find in southern Louisiana. Collecting all the debris will not be an overnight affair no matter the number of folks involved.

Spotter planes and the black helicopters are flying all over the area in grid searches.

More as I know it.

[lavrenti]

I remember that regarding NASA's shoddy treatment of the relatives, however somebody needs to check the b-roll before they run it. I don't think it is proper to see human hair attached to the interior of a helmet on live television.

[Tree of Liberty]

Would be cheaper than building a totally new shuttle

Maybe if you're just looking at the cost of producing the orbiter. However, when you take into account advanced systems and production techniques, and new capabilities, a next-generation craft might make more sense.

[lodwick]

their? there perhaps

[Tree of Liberty]

Thank you for the update. Please keep us apprised.

[Darksheare]

And this time build it out of titanium instead of aluminum.

[lavrenti]

You were one of the good guys on that thread. However, I was disturbed by the miasma of ego pervading that discussion from some of the knuckleheads.

Since 9|11 I've become sensitive to these things. Call me a cynic mugged by tragedy.

[joanie-f]

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.

The NASA protocol during 1969 (if indeed your understanding of it is correct) is hard to comprehend. At the same time, there are certain things about today’s disaster, and its aftermath, that we don’t need to know, or witness.

The reports of body parts being found, although surely a need-to-know part of the investigation for those whose job it is to decipher what happened and why, are not something about which the average American needs a detailed description (let alone photographs). A small fraction of our populace (the Jerry Springer audience type) may somehow thrive on that type of information. I believe the rest of us would rather be spared it. I, for one, am taking some small comfort in the fact that our seven astronauts most likely had little or no idea that they were about to die. What happened to their physical bodies immediately after the cataclysm is of little importance to all but the investigators.

[sweetliberty]

"You need a wetsuit to protect yourself from the drooling ravings of the scummy lifeforms at Democratic Underground"

Don't you mean a HAZMAT suit?

[Stefan Stackhouse]

The local cops came and bagged and removed the smaller pieces and covered the heavier pieces with heavy paper and told them to keep them covered until NASA comes to collect it. (Who knows how long this may take?)

Even the local LEOs should not be removing ANY debris until it can be properly phtographed and cataloged with GPS coordinates. When the debris is being reconstructed, they will need to plot trajectories backwards of each and every piece so that they can figure out what broke apart when. Please tell them to just flag the pieces and LEAVE THEM BE!

[Alberta's Child]

You're very welcome. :-)

[pitinkie]

I am so sick of CNN....3 times in a half hour talking about Arafat's statement of condolence...Anderson Cooper "Any response from the White House on this??" WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!

[prisoner6]

I am amazed. Thanks for the cap. I've been surfing CNN-FAX-MSNBC to get that confirmation.

prisoner6

[Diddle E. Squat]

Even the local LEOs should not be removing ANY debris until it can be properly phtographed and cataloged with GPS coordinates. When the debris is being reconstructed, they will need to plot trajectories backwards of each and every piece so that they can figure out what broke apart when. Please tell them to just flag the pieces and LEAVE THEM BE!

Boy, aren't you just the know-it-all on all these threads. Obviously you should have given the news conference and coordinated the cleanup. Heck, we should have had you in charge of Columbia, then it wouldn't have crashed. And now I guess you can get your trial lawyer buddy to analyze my thread, find the weak points, and sue me.

[Darksheare]

The local LEO's probably, ghoulishly, took the smaller pieces as souveniers.

[DoughtyOne]

Here is a screen saver I made this morning.  It is sized 800x600 and 1024x768.
Right click down download for 800 x 600.
Left click, then right click download for 1024x768.

[sweetliberty]

" I don't see why we have to mess us our archives with their pettiness"

Oh good grief! I don't want to to read their crap today either, but there are thousands of opinions here and yours and mine are only two of them, and I do agree that it is times like these that exposes just how low they are and I think that is a good thing. People need to see what a DNC sponsored site looks like, although I do wish folks would stick to only posting the links and not the content. That way, at least we have a choice whether or not to click on them.

[Alberta's Child]

I tend to overlook obstinacy at times like this. People have a tendency to get very focused on things when a story like this hits the news.

We can't all be cold, analytical engineers, now can we? LOL.