NASA Press Conference LIVE THREAD

Fox, CNN, networks, NASA TV | February 2, 2003 | NASA

[snopercod]

Any time now...

[Semper911]

Jumping in here, I am greatly imprssed by Dittemore.

I feel the same way. He is a good man.

Can anyone tell me why the networks feel compelled to show a postage stamp-sized screen of the actual event, and a larger screen showing old, recycled footage that we have all seen a hundred times?

Do they think we'll click the remote if all they offer us is a talking head? They really do think we are f*cking idiots who need pictures and stupid, fake animation to keep us interested.

[PhiKapMom]

Glad you are adding your "expertise" but are you a software engineer? You would do the Government more good if you kept out of these threads because you lead people to believe there is a cover-up. I have been around the Air Force for 25+ years and know accident investigations look at every possible scenario and take time. You never, repeat never, discount something like software, structural fatigue, hairline cracks undetected (except this shuttle just went through overhaul and their wings should have been ex-rayed looking for fatigue), or any number of potential problems. Tiles have fallen off before.

Don't tell us software cannot be a problem -- my brother is a software engineer! Nothing is 100% full proof! Ask the automatic test community in DoD! Other family members/friends are Government aerospace/electronic engineers so don't go around treating people like idiots when they ask questions or give their theory.

No one knows for sure what happened and that is what the Accident Board will determine!

[Fitzcarraldo]

The astronauts must do that manually.

Please explain...they crawl over to the wing attach point and turn cranks...?

[_Jim]

I thought spy satellites could read license plates from orbit.

License plates orbiting the earth?

[snopercod]

Environmentally friendly: NASA decreed that all solvents, foams, etc be "environmentally friendly".

That policy caused a two month delay several years back because the "lemon-scented" solvent that they changed to while stacking the boosters did not work.

[Dog]

Don't flame me for asking this .....but what do the elevons control?

[don-o]

In light of this catastrophic failure, the comment "we didn't think" it was a problem kindof leaves me cold.

You expect him to to say, "We screwed up Big Time"?

The man is doing his job. Soon, the facts will emerge.

[foreverfree]

bump

[Cboldt]

I was only commenting that I thought yesterday's conference included a statment about temperature, and not ONLY about sensor loss.

I have to read the transcripts, can't keep up with all the details, and my memory sucks. I agree, some of the things said may appear to be contradictory, either because the speaker uses ambiguous terms, or mispeaks. I don't get the impression this guy is lying.

[Dog]

snicker..

[Rafterman1]

Wow...an intelligent question from space.com...

[CedarDave]

...hitting the wing...

Edge or bottom? NASA spokesman keeps refering to bottom of orbiter and how just the process of inspecting by spacewalk could cause more damage than any that might be present already. Seems like its the bottom of the wing they are concerned about. (Can't look at video while listening to briefing -- will crash my dial up connection).

[snopercod]

Elevons are like "flaps" on the trailing edge of the wings. They move up and down and provide pitch and roll control. There is also a body flap in the center for pitch trim. Take a good look at a shuttle picture and you will see them. They are split in two parts for structural reasons: Inboard and Outboard.

[Mo1]

**One comment this guy has made several times now, at least once yesterday and once today, it that they conisered the hit to the left wing and "didn't think" it was a problem**

Here is something I found surfing around the internet .. not sure if it means anything or whether anything could be known


floridatoday.com
http://www.floridatoday.com/columbia/debrisvideo.htm

[Fitzcarraldo]

This stuff is check-summed to death and there is a helluva a QA chain-of-custody-provess that is in place

Snopercod just suggested flight software doesn't control wheel extension...

[_Jim]

Glad you are adding your "expertise" but are you a software engineer?

I am a man of many, many talents and in a wide, but associated, variety of fields ...

[Jael]

Actually, the non-freon foam was a problem. And a known problem.

A review of the records of the STS-86 records revealed that a change to the type of foam was used on the external tank.
This event is significant because the pattern of damage on this flight was similar to STS-87 but to a much lesser degree. The reason for the change in the type of foam is due to the desire of NASA to use "environmentally friendly" materials in the space program.
Freon was used in the production of the previous foam. This method was eliminated in favor of foam that did not require freon for its production. MSFC is investigating the consideration that some characteristics of the new foam may not be known for the ascent environment."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/834139/posts?page=54#54

[DoughtyOne]

I appreciate what you are saying, but in this instance they had an event that was significant enough for them to discuss potential problems that it might create. What would it have hurt to take one pass for the hubble to focus in on that wing. I'm not asking this question after the shuttle landed safely. We lost a ship. There is the potential that they made a serious underestimate of the damage the materials hitting the wing might have crated. If they dismiss it now, it could happen again.

[The Great Satan]

Agree. Program director sounds pretty confident that the foam debris was not a problem.

Excellent press conference by the way.

[HairOfTheDog]

I thought spy satellites could read license plates from orbit. Why not the other way around? (This sounds like ass-covering to me.)

You think he is lying to you about whether spy satellites could look at the shuttle? The same lens that could read a license plate on the earth's surface would not necessarily be able to turn and focus on something that is much closer. They are designed for specific tasks.