Did NASA know there was a problem? PIC and Excerpts from an Israeli Article

Maariv ^

[yonif]

The left wing of the shuttle picture taken from the window of the shuttle.

Main Issue in the Article

Did Nasa know about this and therefore kept their silence, not telling the astronauts?

-The photo was revealed on Channel 1 of Israel. This pic was taken during an interview the Channel had with the Israeli astronaut.

[El Gato]

There was no effective way to view the underside of the shuttle wing from Earth or any space-based vantage point.

I question this statement. I recall a very early, perhaps the very first, shuttle flight where the bottom was examed using "national technical means" either ground based cameras (you could use one of the big ground based telescopes,) or space based, i.e. spy satellites. Now you might not be able to see small cracks in tiles, you could see missing tiles, I believe.

[Prodigal Daughter]

FR people are very intelligent, but I have little faith in NASA bureaucracy and blind ambition. I'm still weighing the two against each other and I'm not convinced.

[Atlas Sneezed]

That's not a stovepipe, it is an arrow pointing to the damage in the news photo.

[Prodigal Daughter]

They reviewed the tape and concluded that the insulation impact with the wing was not a safety concern.

That right there sounds disingenuous.

[Doohickey]

The shuttle orbits the earth upside down. You cannot see the bottom from earth.

[Howlin]

That picture did NOT come from NASA.

[shadowman99]

Those are not shuttle wings. study this pic and look at that fake again.

[El Gato]

Therefore no "seat of the pants" flight manuevers would or could keep stress off of the left wing and prevent the disaster

I believe they, meaning the people who program the re-entry, which may or may not be the onboard crew, do have a choice as to whether to make the first S-turn to the left or to the right. Off hand I don't know which, if either, would be less stressing to the tiles or seals on the left side. I heard a report this morning that they had already executed the first of the S turns, banking up to 70 degrees while in a ~40 degree angle of attack configuration. The purpose of the S-turn is to bleed energy, and thus slow the craft down.

[Lancey Howard]

The shuttle and the ISS "passed within a few hundred miles of each other several times". If it was a known life or death situation, NASA would have found a way to "limp" the shuttle over there. Likewise, if it was a known life or death situation, NASA would have concentrated all efforts on getting Atlantis up there.

So I maintain that these are indeed "possible solutions".

Regards,
LH

[Tennessee_Bob]

Odd that that "arrow" is the same color as the item in the upper right hand corner - and that object is pointing to what? And I find it rather strange that they would circle the "damage" in red, but but in the arrow in a dark color, cause it to appear to cast a shadow, and make it look like it blends in with the surface it's sitting on.

[El Gato]

In space I am not sure but I thought things were weightless.

They are. However they still have mass and it takes fuel to loft all that mass into orbit or to change the orbit, either the altitude or the plane of the orbit.

[yonif]

"This BS. If that were the LEFT wing, they it would be the TRAILING edge, not the LEADING edge"

It doesn't say anything about leading or trailing. All it said was that it was of the left wing.

[yonif]

"Um hmm. If a camera from a window can take a picture of this then an astronaut looking out the same window could see it too. Nota bene: NASA is an "it," requiring "and, therefore, kept its silence...."

Maybe they chose to remain silent cause there was nothing they thought of could be done. But...they should at least tried something...always keep trying. You had a week.

[yonif]

The main article on that Paper's site is now (main idea):

NBC Networks reported that a main engineer of NASA told NASA, Columbia was not going to be able to return safetly due to heavy damage receieved in the lift off.

More points

1. They sent a memo to the supervisors telling them the shuttle was not going to be able to return in peace

2. The left wing of the shuttle had a crack of 7.5inches to 30 inches.

3. Large damage to the insulation

4. This would explain the high temperature and the difficult time navigating


Source: Maariv Newspaper - http://images.maariv.co.il/cache/ART429656.html

[dirtboy]

Are these the type of threads that keep getting yanked?

Depends on whether the B.S. being posted warrants extensive refutation. All they need to make this farce complete is for Tourist Guy to be riding on the wing like Dr. Strangelove.

[nonliberal]

Reports today are that there was not enough fuel on board to make it to the space station. Even if they could have, Columbia was not equipped with a docking ring so they could not have docked anyway.

None of the astronauts on board could have made the repair as 1) there was nothing to hang on to and they could have gone tumbling into space, and; 2) They were not trained to make repairs of that nature.

[isthisnickcool]

Maybe they chose to remain silent cause there was nothing they thought of could be done.

No way! It just does not happen! If the controllers knew for sure that there was more danger than usual they would have advised the crew. Like I said before, "what kind of pu$$ys do you imagine are involved here?"

If the engineers had known that there was a serious problem they would not have been silent. If they knew that the vehicle was likely to have a catastrophic event and even if some NASA bigwig said to not tell the crew the taggers would have gone crazy. The crew would have been told. Plus, NASA would have wanted to be prepared to handle the likely catastrophic event. From both a human and engineering standpoint. As tough as it sounds and some people may not like it they would have wanted to document event as best they could.

The dangers flying the shuttle are well known by everyone involved. Even still, there will always be a line of people waiting for their ride. Even after what just happened. Who here would got tomorrow if given the chance? I would.

[yonif]

Impossible or possible. They could have at least tried to do something else, before telling them to enter the atmosphere.

[tophat9000]

I think the photo will prove to be junk

I don't even think the cream and black part is part of the outside of the ship!

If you enlarge this pic the "cracks" look to be scraps on the window

The cream and black part looks to me that it maybe the part (liner and vent) between a inner and outer window

(if you ever looks out an airliner window you seen the inner and outer panels and liner in between