Astronauts doomed from the start

.heraldsun ^ | 2/3/2003 | PHILLIP COOREY and ANNA COCK

[Willie Green]

I'm afraid that the media have already decided that the foam insulation is the "obvious" cause, and will never accept any other explanation, no matter how thorough and competent the investigation and analysis.

[TLBSHOW]

The truth will come out. This was and its only my opinion but it all started at re-entry, and caught fire that never ended as it streaked across America until it just exploded over Texas and I am sure the left wing damage did not help.

[dtel]

I agree with you.
Something was apparently going wrong in California.
It got worse as it went across NM and west Texas and finally blew up around east Texas.
The noise as it went past us was unbelievable.

[Willie Green]

and I am sure the left wing damage did not help.

All I'm saying is that many will accept no other explanation, even if the investigation proves that any such damage was minor and noncontributory to the root cause of the crash.

[TLBSHOW]

Did you see it pass by?

[Illbay]

Do you think it was terrorism then?

If so, how, in your theory?

FWIW, I know NOTHING about any of it, but wonder if, despite the security, there was not sabotage involved long before the shuttle lifted off.

The probability is remote, but given the Israeli on board I can't get it out of my mind.

[dtel]

Didn't see it, was unaware it was flying over, but we heard it and felt it.
The ground was shaking and a tremendous rumbling noise accompanied by a very large boom.
We are about 70 miles NE of the debris field.

[Psycho_Bunny]

"we see your tyre pressure messages"

?

[TheDon]

NASA had concluded only two days ago there was no serious damage to the tiles, but was uncertain last night.

"As we look at that now in hindsight we cannot discount that there might be a connection," stunned shuttle manager Ron Dittemore said.

Having listened to Dittemore at the news conference, it seemed that the fact that they couldn't do anything about tile damage if they discovered it, played a role in dismissing any investigation into the tile damage.

[Willie Green]

Do you think it was terrorism then?

Highly doubtful. I think the explanations offered by NASA so far are reasonable: that security prior to launch was adequate to prevent any onboard sabotage, and that at the time of the accident, the shuttle was too high and traveling too fast to have been attacked from an external source.

If so, how, in your theory?

I have no personal "theory".
While I am just as interested in learning of the cause as is everybody else, I'm also resigned to the fact that a thorough investigation and analysis is going to take quite some time. I see no reason to engage in speculation or jump to premature conclusions.

[First_Salute]

All the information currently available points to deterioration of the Shuttle vehicle integrity in the left wing, probably occurring mostly, at first, ahead of, or nearby, the left main landing gear wheel well.

The Shuttle was in a 57 degree left bank (as part of its entry flight attitude procedures known as the Roll Schedule, I am given to understand), meaning it was rolled along its center line axis with left wing low, and right wing high.

A staggered series of sensor failures and reading anomalies occurred; sensors intended to measure the temperature of the airframe (not the surface of the airframe) indicated 45 degrees higher on the left than right, sides.

There was indication of a left elevon above normal which caused the Shuttle to roll further to the left.

The Shuttle autopilot attempted a corrective roll to the right.

Thereabouts in the timeline, the temperature and pressure sensors for the left in-board and left out-board main landing gear tires, quit, ie. as they say, "went off-scale low."

That prompted the Shuttle's computers to alert the flight crew. Mission Control asked the crew if they saw the message on their displays. The Shuttle Commander began a response, promptly interrupted by we don't know what ... near the top of the hour.

And we do not yet know what initially caused the deterioration of the left wing.

[Howlin]

Precisely. Along with some people on this forum.

[Howlin]

It did not explode.

[Howlin]

As plain an explanation as I've seen. Thanks.

[TLBSHOW]

It broke apart or it exploded from the heat.

[Howlin]

You continue to say it exploded. It did not explode. You're the only one saying that.

[dtel]

In the last press conference, Dittemore, said they had a 'thermal event' above the wing on the fuselage.
This tells me the craft may not have coming in on the desired trajectory, as there are no tiles on the fuselage.
From the timeline the event would have occured long before it got to Texas, as they lost communication in the Texas area.
Who knows what the cause at this time, but debris will be found west of Dallas, I bet.

[Former Fetus]

Do you think it was terrorism then?

Can someone explain to me if it would be possible to break into NASA's computer and cause the Columbia to re-entere at the wrong angle and burn in the atmosphere? The more explanations I hear on television, the more I wonder what are the chances that the first time NASA has lost astronauts on re-entry had to be when the israeli astronaut was on board!