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BREAKING: NBC News finds Jan 30 NASA Memo showing serious concern about tile damage!
NBC News | February 3, 2003 | Jay Barbree

Posted on 02/03/2003 6:03:22 AM PST by Timesink

Developing. Watch MSNBC for latest. Internal memo shows some engineers believe there was up to a 7 1/2-inch gash from the foam breakoff at launch. Memo was serious enough to go out to all NASA centers two days before disaster.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: Florida; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: columbia; columbiatragedy; feb12003; msnbc; nasa; nbcnews; shuttle; shuttletragedy; spaceshuttle; sts107
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To: TLBSHOW
THIS FLIGHT SHOULD NOT OF HAPPENED TO START WITH

Oh sheesh, who gave you the right to speak for the Astronauts. No one knew during takeoff that the insulation would cause damage to the wing. Maybe there wasn't time for an aborted liftoff maybe they were to high in the atmosphere.

Everybody knew(the Asrtronauts, their families, the enginineers on the ground) that space flight is inherently dangerous and if one little thing goes wrong in can be catostrophic.

But TLB the all knowing wishes to spit on the spirit of the Asrtonauts and their grieving families, that he(TLBSHOW) alone could have prevented this.

You make me sick with your petulance and arrogance.

181 posted on 02/03/2003 7:12:04 AM PST by Dane
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To: Freedom4US
The premeier space agency in the world is asking for hobbyists and amateurs to provide video and still photos of re-entry. WTF???

Telespopic video should be SOP for all re-entrys, and yes....WTF?

182 posted on 02/03/2003 7:13:07 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: Mamzelle
Could the Russians have helped?

I don't know. But, given the prep time for any launch, the fact that Columbia didn't dock, the amount of time and precision of needed calculations, I doubt it. It would have been really rushed. The last time NASA rushed something just watching the clock, Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died.

If there was damage to the tiles, and it's WAY too early to know, there was no way to know for sure, without a close-up inspection, what was going to happen. In over 40 years and over a hundred flights, of an extraordiarily dangerous group of projects this is accident 4 involving human life and 3 involving loss of life. That's still a damn good track record.
183 posted on 02/03/2003 7:13:59 AM PST by Desdemona
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To: Timesink
Developing. Watch MSNBC for latest. Internal memo shows some engineers believe there was up to a 7 1/2-inch gash from the foam breakoff at launch. Memo was serious enough to go out to all NASA centers two days before disaster.

Aha! Despite all the bashing of me for DARING to question the sacred Mission Control, more and more evidence emerges of the sheer laziness and negligence of the NASA brass. Some people treat MC as the engineering Vatican, which can never be questioned. Nonsense. If it is truly found that negligence can be established then someone should do prison time for this, as should have the brass who KNEW about the Morton Thiakol warning about the Challenger "O" rings, and did nothing out of sheer arrogance.

184 posted on 02/03/2003 7:14:26 AM PST by montag813
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To: Timesink
What's that thing that looks like a top hat?

I think it's an arrow showing the damage..

185 posted on 02/03/2003 7:14:27 AM PST by Texas Mom
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To: RCW2001
If repair materials had been needed, they could have been sent on that mission...

They couldnt do the repair in space. There are no hand holds on the outside of the Shuttle so there is nothing to hold on to. They had no teether so a trip outside would have accomplished nothing but a sooner death. BTW, the Russian ship was in Kazakstan which would have taken at least a day to get the materials there minimum, assuming they were readily available in the US. Another day to catch up with the Shuttle. Then how do you offload the materials from the unmanned russian ship without a teether on board the Shuttle?

186 posted on 02/03/2003 7:14:49 AM PST by Dave S
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To: YaYa123
Why do I think that someone will be manufacturing a "Bush Knew" out of this?
187 posted on 02/03/2003 7:15:03 AM PST by denydenydeny
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To: Timesink
Ok, for explanation sake you might be right....however, in the instance of NASA, the worldest greatest Aeronautic Space program, the answer of: "we can't do that" should not be a plausible one.
188 posted on 02/03/2003 7:15:17 AM PST by rs79bm
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To: Goodlife
HA!
189 posted on 02/03/2003 7:15:50 AM PST by Timesink
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To: Centurion2000
Exactly what is it you see in that picture. And what is that a picture of?
190 posted on 02/03/2003 7:16:27 AM PST by Howlin
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To: denydenydeny
Why do I think that someone will be manufacturing a "Bush Knew" out of this?

Oh, there were plenty of such rumblings over on DUh within minutes of the news breaking.

191 posted on 02/03/2003 7:16:49 AM PST by Timesink
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To: Timesink; All
Heard a report yesterday, ONLY once, but it's worth repeating.

The report said that the Astronauts could NOT have done a space-walk, because they weren't trained to do so, and it wasn't that type of a mission.

But here's the important part. Person said that the outside of the Shuttle was smooth, with no handles for the Astronaut to hold on to while trying to make a repair. I was under the impression he was referring to the "Tile Area". The handles on the outside of the shuttle were expensive to install it's not "cost effective". IOW's they USED to have handles, so the Astronauts wouldn't float off into orbit.

Anyone else care to comment on this? And please, forgive my ignorance on this subject...if I didn't state this in a more cognizant way.

sw

192 posted on 02/03/2003 7:17:00 AM PST by spectre (spectre's wife)
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To: Mo1
Let's see, This happpen on Saturday??

Yep, that sure is a long time

In the spirit of not personally attacking you...if you really believe all the facts, including negligence on the part of NASA (or any other ABC agency involved for that matter) will be publically disclosed; then I believe you to be willfully naive.

193 posted on 02/03/2003 7:18:14 AM PST by BureaucratusMaximus (if we're not going to act like a constitutional republic...lets be the best empire we can be...)
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To: Mo1; anniegetyourgun
Oh, come on......why should they have to wait for facts, when wild speculation, not to mention ignoring the known facts, will work so much better for their agenda?
194 posted on 02/03/2003 7:18:39 AM PST by Howlin
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To: Fitzcarraldo
If NASA had decided to take action immediately after Columbia reached orbit, there would have been at least 21 days for a rescue attempt

What is your basis for that statement. I understand they had enough life support to last until Wednesday.

195 posted on 02/03/2003 7:19:09 AM PST by Dave S
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To: mabelkitty
Your point is exactly correct. On another thread, I made the following statement:

Space flight is extremely dangerous. Space flight by organizations that adhere to the principles of affirmative action (i.e., "good enough", rather than the best for the job) is trebly dangerous. It will be many years before that first statement becomes false. The second statement will never be false.

196 posted on 02/03/2003 7:19:48 AM PST by jammer
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To: Desdemona
re: If there was damage to the tiles, and it's WAY too early to know, there was no way to know for sure, without a close-up inspection, what was going to happen. )))

If the possible damage was known from the start of the mission, we have "eyes" that'd given us pictures of that possible damage, so sharp you could count the pores. The Pentagon could've done it, if asked. That would have given us almost a month to mount a rescue, if indeed the damage was the problem. But they didn't look, apparently, so we can't know.

197 posted on 02/03/2003 7:19:56 AM PST by Mamzelle
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To: tscislaw
Could not. Columbia could not reach the ISS. Columbia needed major mods to be able to do that.

BINGO! Just like the astronauts cannot do a space walk to see under the shuttle -- no hand holds, etc. and could do more damage. They are unable to fix tiles while in space because of the limited space walk capability not to mention how are they going to glue the tiles on if they could -- the tiles are custom made to fit the shuttle and individually glued on. Guess they figure they could use come crazy glue?

The reporters and some of their stupid questions without researching is beyond my belief! Also people want instaneous answers -- not going to happen. That is what Accident Investigation Boards are for -- they happen to know a lot more than members of the press!

I am absolutely shocked at some of the things I have seen written about what they could have done. The shuttle is a glider not an Air Force jet and doesn't maneuver wherever it wants to go. This isn't a Star Wars movie!

198 posted on 02/03/2003 7:20:46 AM PST by PhiKapMom (Bush/Cheney 2004)
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To: All
YOU ARE A REPORTER. What Question would you ask Sean O'Keefe about the shuttle tragedy-
199 posted on 02/03/2003 7:21:09 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: montag813
If it is truly found that negligence can be established then someone should do prison time for this...

Good luck finding the next generation of people willing to put everyting on the line and take risks for this country. We need to be deserving of them.

In all of this, I hope that those who carry the actual weight of making these decisions can find peace. These decisions where put before them, not us.

200 posted on 02/03/2003 7:21:09 AM PST by HairOfTheDog (I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.)
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