NASA Press Conference LIVE THREAD

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

[snopercod]

Any time now...

[bvw]

That's not true. Small size, in comparison -- but projects in which life and limb were at risk -- and nearly lost.

[_Jim]

I suspect it was.

Judgement calls are always a difficult thing to make. 99 times out of 100 you can make then *right* decision, but, that one case *where* someone may not have followed proper procedure ...

Remember, the process of building/repairing a space shuttle is a labor-intensive process involving a ton of specialists and materials ... any one of which failing to live up to their commitments can cause a whole program (like the shuttle) to go down ...

It ain't just 'the guys at the top'. There is a lot of involvement at *all* levels.

[WoofDog123]

"they should have spacewalked around the shuttle to check for damage"

Repair was not an option here.

IF the space-hab was jettisonable, then that is the ONLY thing I can think of that MIGHT have helped if this is a tile issue. And it might not have....did they even have the equipment on board for a spacewalk?

[Timesink]

Do I smell liability concerns in the government? I read today that the families of the crew of Challenger got $1 million apiece.

I dunno. Doesn't seem like they'd really need to care, since a) I'm sure it was built into their NASA contracts that they had to admit to knowing they were getting into a seriously dangerous field and thus giving up a lot (if not all) of their rights to sue; and b) "The government" never pays. WE do. If they end up having to pay umpteen million per family, then next year's budget will just be increased by that much to make up for it.

[Rafterman1]

Could a spacewalk transfer be accomplished?

Even assuming that they could reach the ISS, I seriously doubt that they would have seven EVA suits on board a lab mission.

[GRRRRR]

Yeah, I don't like his 'tude either...smugness is not becoming...

[Mo1]

The real question is, what to do with a wounded bird?
Abandon it in orbit, hang out at the space station and wait for another shuttle home?

That is what is sounds like to me

[Gracey]

LOL. You did good starting this post. Excellent thread and good questions.

[sonofatpatcher2]

I was hoping someone would ask about the possibility of a micro-meteor hit in the left wing either in orbit or on reentry. With this possibility it would be a coincidence in regards the foam hitting the shuttle on launch.

[Jael]

December 23, l997

Immediately after the Columbia rolled to a stop, the inspection crews began the process of the post flight inspection. As soon as the orbiter was approached, light spots in the tiles were observed indicating that there had been significant damage to the tiles......

Damage numbering up to forty tiles is considered normal on each mission due to ice dropping off of the external tank (ET) and plume re-circulation causing this debris to impact with the tiles. But the extent of damage at the conclusion of this mission was not "normal."

The pattern of hits did not follow aerodynamic expectations, and the number, size and severity of hits were abnormal. Three hundred and eight hits were counted during the inspection, one-hundred and thirty two (132) were greater than one inch. Some of the hits measured fifteen (15) inches long with depths measuring up to one and one-half (1 1/2) inches. Considering that the depth of the tile is two (2) inches, a 75% penetration depth had been reached. Over one hundred (100) tiles have been removed from the Columbia because they were irreparable. The inspection revealed the damage, now the "detective process" began.

During the STS-87 mission, there was a change made on the external tank. Because of NASA's goal to use environmentally friendly products, a new method of "foaming" the external tank had been used for this mission and the STS-86 mission. It is suspected that large amounts of foam separated from the external tank and impacted the orbiter. This caused significant damage to the protective tiles of the orbiter. Foam cause damage to a ceramic tile?! That seems unlikely, however when that foam is combined with a flight velocity between speeds of MACH two to MACH four, it becomes a projectile with incredible damage potential.
____________________________________________________________

According to NASA, during several previous Space Shuttle flights, including the shuttle launched Nov. 29, 1998, the shuttle external tank experienced a significant loss of foam from the intertank. The material lost caused damage to the thermal protection high-temperature tiles on the lower surface of the shuttle orbiter. http://www.arnold.af.mil/aedc/newsreleases/1999/99-041.htm

[WoofDog123]

"Don't know if it was possible given fuel remaining, orbits, etc, but I was wondering why no one has asked if rendezvous with ISS would have been possible"

ISS was WAY above them (115 miles) and in a completely different orbit. Colombia is not capable of reaching ISS altitude anyway from the start, given its weight (the other 3 are lighter and for whatever other reasons, can).

These guys were on their own in space. Their only option was to land.

[Semper911]

I very much appreciate having your experiance here on FR. Thanks for being so generous with it.

[codder too]

Who are you accusing of being "adolescent"? What the man said made sense. Do you absolutely refute his facts, and why.

[Gracey]

You're welcome!!!

[alancarp]

This is a bit grizzly, but noteworthy:

My wife pointed out something that I wanted to share: having now gotten word that "remains from all seven astronauts" have been found suggests strongly that the crew capsule part of the shuttle has been located. There's no other way that an odd body part here and there could have been otherwise positively identified by today.

[snopercod]

Could they have gotten there and used those rescue pods they used to carry back in the 80's?

That's a damn good question. Right now, NASA has absolutely no plans for a balls-out emergency rescue launch, should that become necessary.

When I worked in operations there, I tried to build some support for that kind of plan, but just got blank stares...

[_Jim]

Do I smell liability concerns in the government?

Oh brother ...

[Gracey]

He's surely doing his very best. He's a decent, sincere guy in real life.

[mewzilla]

We could have had a shuttle up to them in a week. It would have been incredibly dangerous to attempt a turnaround timew that short, and the shuttle astreonauts in orbit would have been on fumes, but we could have attempted it. If ground control hadn't been so positive there was nothing wrong. They'd better hope they were right.