Columbia Discussion thread

Feb 1, 2003

[Admin Moderator]

'

On behalf of posters on Free Republic, I post this with deepest sympathy for the crew and their families.

Mission - sts107

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This is a continuation of the original thread.

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

ANY DU LINKS OR POSTS WILL BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY. Keep them on the original thread.

[bonesmccoy]

If there was a loss of thermal protection over the gear doors, you could have a compromise of the tire pressure because of the relationship between temperature and pressure.

If the PLT or CDR noted a tire pressure gauge reading changing, it may be an indication of loss of integrity of the heat shield.

[rintense]

Sounds silly, but maybe they'll make new shuttles like the ones in the movie 'Armageddon'.

[Wait4Truth]

.....but Brian Williams is working on my nerves...

I turned off NBC because of Williams...he is arrogant and pompous and I cannot deal with him. So we agree. I want straight news on this - and you don't get that from him.

[Otta B Sleepin]

Thanks for the ping, Howlin.

Praying for the families of the astronauts and also for the families of the Challenger astronauts. This has got to be bringing all those devastating memories back.

It's eerie that this occurred so close to the anniversary dates of the other two NASA tragedies, the Apollo fire on 1/27/67, and Challenger on 1/28/86.

[Chad Fairbanks]

My personal opinion, based on absolutely ZERO knowledge of anything remotely related to this, is that the 'Tire Pressure' loss was probably due to heat extreme enough to melt the tires... it would have to be pretty darned hot, however... but then, I could just be talking out my a$$, and have no qualms about saying so...

:0(

[KevinDavis]

Sorry we need to continue with human flights. Yes we have some success with robots, but they are very limited.

[Movemout]

"After the Challenger disaster, there was a long hiatus. That doesn't mean the same thing will happen. I doubt that this disaster will be the trauma that the Challenger was."

You may be right but don't bet the farm on it.

"Non-renewable"? I assume you mean expendable launch vehicles, or conversely, non-rusable launch vehicles. I think there is a proper mix of manned and unmanned missions. I do not dispute the value of robotic exploration of the solar system. In fact, much will have to be done in this area before we send humans to anyplace in the solar system.

[Peach]

Brian Williams: It falls again to the President to calm the nation, but thankfully we aren't talking about terrorism. NBC Reporter: A huge disaster in the making and the president will want to address that. The Department of Homeland Security has sent officials to the states where debris is known to have fallen due to the dangerous nature of the debris. The president will reflect the grief that has overcome the country.

[rintense]

Interesting stuff here. So if the heart shield is compromised, then obviously it can not be corrected by computers or crew.

[Dog]

Depends....if the tiles came off over a senstive area of the underbelly.....it could cause and explosion ....remember it is generating thousands of degrees of heat during reentry..

[steveegg]

Ok, so if the landing gear is still retracted, then what could cause a change in tire pressure?

Heat not anticipated by the designers, something breaking through the gear door and piercing the tire. The first would have caused a brief overinflation, followed by a tire explosion, while the latter would have caused an explosive decompression. The wheel well is, in all likelyhood, not pressurized.

[don-o]

I watched the mission control coverage up until 9:15AM, not knowing that anything was wrong. Those people at mission control are as cool as cucumbers.

I turned on the NASA-TV stream off a FR thread which noted that the shuttle would be passing over San Fran on its glide path home. Tuned in at 9:00 EST, and withing a couple of minutes, the capccom was giving the "Columbia, Houston" call. Silence.

Call was repeated, Silence.

The commentatore was noting that no tracking data was coming in either. My pulse began to race. I knew it was a goner.

This is truly a sad day.

But, America shall roll sleeves up, figure out what went wrong, and get on with it. I am hoping for a fast track program for the next generation of space travel. Back to the Moon, then on to Mars.

I expect that the folks on Columbia would want it that way.

[Centurion2000]

Not impossible from the inside... an altitude or barometric-sensitive bomb. The shuttle was overhauled within the last year. First Israeli astronaut - who led a mission in the Israeli Air Force against the Iraqi nuclear infrastructure. Sleeper within the support crew?

Were that the case you would expect someone to cal in and claim 'credit' for the work.

[Dr. Zoo]

I think they will discuss every possibility. That's why I think right now, the FBI has begun a background check on every single person that was involved with the Columbia upgrade this past year.

The speculation of external terrorism is of course not the issue. That IMO is wht they are discounting.

rintense, let's hope political correctness doesn't rear it's ugly head and they investigate every possibility.

It is premature to hear the reports that say there is no indication of terrorism. From what little that is known now, there is also no indication it is not terrorism, ie they know almost nothing at this time.

It always bothers me when they prematurely rule things in or out even before they have any information one way or another.

The process they were going through at the time was very delicate manauvering considering how exact the process of re-entry is and is probably the most dangerous part of the return, and they routinely loose radio contact during this particual time. The concern began when contact did not return.

This going to be a long process IMO. Speculation is pretty all over the place at this time.

[Howlin]

Not today, please. We have deaths here.

[Mamzelle]

Many astronauts have large goofs on their resume, including the ones generally held in the most reverence. Her goof gave other astronauts the opportunity for some EVA, and you can be sure they were lots happier about that than annoyed!! Making small goofs sometimes teaches how to avoid fatal goofs. In sum, the goof was no indicator of anything. And...she was not a pilot...

[glock rocks]

well, at least judy on cnn has confirmed the shuttle did not hit a commercial jetliner as it crossed texas. no i am not kidding.

[null and void]

Highly doubtful. The only anti-air missile that may have been able to reach up to 200,000 feet is Russia's anti-ballistic missile, which is deployed in fixed sites around Moscow. Morever, that missile is nuclear-tipped.

I think we would have noticed that.

[E Rocc]

And what's with the bonehead Indian gal onboard? This flight was a multi-culti sideshow. If we're serious about space exploration let's act serious and use real pros for all flights. (Wonder how many foregn programmers NASA has on payroll).

Like I said elsewhere, sometimes events like this bring out the worst in the worst.

-Eric