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.

[Arkinsaw]

BTW, what does the N in NASA stand for?

What the *$!@ does that mean?

[DoctorMichael]

Another Lib caller just said that.........."Just cause Bush can cry doesn't make him a good man. F*%$ him, man".

Next was an Indian caller who broke down during the call.

[Lurking2Long]

So many (senseless) words to respond to my one word.

The payloads for Apollo were not nearly as heavy as those for the shuttle, so "weight" is still the answer, despite your rantings to the contrary...

[Redleg Duke]

Okay, Ashley, you got in the last word, now can the subject! Some of us have been watching the US Space Program since before Sputnik and things like this hit us hard! Those who fly are typically the best and brightest and bravest. Don't ever forget that!

When you choose to fly into space, you are planting your ass on a bomb, hoping that it decides to be a rocket!

[steveegg]

And for all you people who believe it can't be terrorism because a missle can't get that high I say: "What about the re-entry codes?

Unless Columbia tried a barrel roll, I think that Mission Control would have mentioned something about a course/attitude correction. It doesn't appear that was the case.

[Ichneumon]

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.

Well that's a relief -- we all know how heavy the commercial jetliner traffic is at 200,000 feet... *boggle*

[Howlin]

Oh, those poor people.

[Steel Wolf]

I never said that. And I admitted the mistake of calling her a bonehead. But if you are happy that NASA rewards expensive incompetence which puts others in danger, then we will have to agree to disagree. We don't need AA in everyday life, let alone rocket science.

You never said that? You accused a Ph.d astronaut with a qualification list a mile long of incompetence. A cursory check of her bio (posted on various threads) would indicate that she wasn't some stand in to make the picture 'look like America.' Your dragging in baggage from another topic here.

The expensive incompetence here is from Washington, who won't fund the agency the way it should be for safe operation. The inexpensive incompetence comes from the cheap shots of some FReepers.

[ricer1]

Tile found in Rice, Texas: Dallas TV5 showed a 4inx4in tile that landed in the grass next to the Rice High School parking lot. A sheet metal piece (maybe 1ftx2ft) was found in Nachadoches, Texas.

My wife heard loud booms this morning at 8am. I was sleeping in, so I can't recall hearing anything. We are in Greenville, Tx., N.E. of Dallas.

[Howlin]

Don't make me laugh on such a sad thread.....but I'm smiling!

[Jennifer in Florida]

MSNBC confirms the no surface to air missle could reach 200,000 feet.

How high can a surface to air missile reach?

[HighWheeler]

What a sad day.

My brother woke me up with a phone call at 9:21 and told me that the Columbia was 5 minutes late on landing and that there was no communication. The shuttle runs on a schedule down to no more than 1 or 2 seconds of variation at any moment of the planned mission. I knew immediately that she was lost.

[Action-America]

My heart goes out to the families. But, the one thing that I would tell the families is that although it's enfortunate that their family members had to die, I can think of no better way to go, than doing exactly what you want to do most, while serving all mankind. There are no greater heroes.

Like anyone else, I don't want to go out before my time, but I can only hope that when my time does come, I will be so fortunate. The thing that I fear most is dying in my sleep. When death comes, I want to see it coming and spit in his face. Having worked at NASA for many years in the past and having met more than a few astronauts, I get the decided impression that, as a group, they too would want to see it coming.

This is a sad time. But, let us not forget that they died heroes, serving all mankind. Nothing greater can be said of any man.

Even more than I mourn them, I salute them.

If our elected officials want to honor them, they won't stop the space program for another three years, as they did after Challenger. They will fund the space program at an even greater rate, so that they will not only be able to provide greater safety, but will be able to go on to establish permanent stations in space, on the Moon, on Mars and beyond. Anything less is to dishonor these heroes.

 

[Yaelle]

This question makes me sick to post, but when Palestinians and Iraqis are shown cheering for our tragedy, what will the reaction of our Peaceniks be? Will they finally resolve that we need to fight and make better that corner of the world, or will they (shudder) see the "point" of the Arabs' horrible jubilation???

[DoughtyOne]

If you would like a screen saver of this photo, right click on it to download an 800x600 version.
If you would like a 1024x768 version, please left click.  Once the new photo comes on the screen, right click to download it.
NASA allows free distribution of their images.  This should not be redistributed for profit.
I just noticed a flaw in the larger version and will replace it shortly.

[lainie]

So, assuming the landing gear was retracted, the indication of loss of tire pressure *could* mean that the shuttle began to rip apart on the belly.

Or an increase of tire pressure due to increased heat?

[6ppc]

Several times (including a couple of minutes ago on Fox) I've seen one video that shows a closeup of the shuttle still in one piece...it appears to be sideways to the direction of travel. Could someone with Tivo find that and post a pic? It's only a couple of seconds long.

[Richard Kimball]

The remains won't be what you think of as remains. Without going into gross detail, if portions of the capsule remained intact until the shuttle reached a lower level, pieces of a pound or two are possible. Sorry to post this, but I've tried to be as respectful as possible.

The exploration of space is a dangerous endeavour. The worst tragedy would be if this stopped us from moving forward. I believe it is time to begin the next generation of spacecraft, and phase out the current fleet. I still have a Challenger patch on my blue jean jacket. We're supposed to visit NASA in Houston in a couple of weeks. If I can, I'll probably pick up another patch from the Columbia. These people deserve honor and respect, but the exploration of space must continue. When mankind quits exploring, it will die.

[Howlin]

What in the world is wrong with these people?

The Indian man was sad; no matter what people think, those countries take a LOT more pride in the successes of their citizens that a "LOT" of our people do.