BREAKING: NBC News finds Jan 30 NASA Memo showing serious concern about tile damage!

NBC News | February 3, 2003 | Jay Barbree

[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.

[Timesink]

I'm pretty sure Barbree said up to 7 1/2 feet LONG, but only 7 1/2 inches WIDE. But don't hold me to that 100%, I may have misheard slightly.

[Peach]

It was widely reported yesterday that NASA's budget was severely gutted during the Clinton administration. I believe it was reported that President Bush increased NASA's budget (but the phone rang and I missed that section). Additionally President Bush has had his hands full since 9/11.

[Timesink]

What's that thing that looks like a top hat?

[Timesink]

BREAKING: NBC News finds Jan 27 NASA Memo showing serious concern about tile damage!

Correction: Memo is from Jan 30. I've asked the Admin Moderator to fix the title, which s/he has done.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Apparent minor damage to the protective tiles on Columbia's left wing shouldn't affect the procedure for landing, entry flight director Leroy Cain said Friday. "All of the analysis says we have plenty of margin in that regard," he said.
Click here

This was from an article online before the disaster.

[TLBSHOW]

That picture sure looks like it is in feet.

[rs79bm]

Reading through all these posts I see a bunch of pessimists. Of course, SOMETHING could have been done, but it wasn't "deemed" an emergency. I can think of two or three things that could have saved human lives. 1) we could have sent up Atlantis to get them, which would have been capable of launch, 2) we could have kept them up there an additional week or so until a contingency plan was developed, or 3) we could have developed a plan to hitch them a ride on the international space station. All three, albeit, remote, would have given them a hopes chance of surviving. Instead, it was deemed to be of non-inportance by NASA and the excuse I heard yesterday was utterly incomprehensible: "ALthough we expected tile damage, there was absolutely nothing we could do about it". I don't know about you, but that excuse doesn't fly in my book.

[ResistorSister]

Did anyone else see the FoxNews Channel report from a guy in Nevada that has video of the reentry...and there is something following the shuttle? I walked into the room at the very end of the report.

There are two bright lights in a dark sky...suddenly, the one that is following looks as if it suffers an explosion and then you can see a contrail. Did anyone else see the report who can explain it to me?

[al_c]

Sadly...even if true, there is almost nothing that could have been done once launched. I hope we can learn for the future.

Sure there was. Dock at the space station and return on the Soyuz capsule.

[Stingray51]

Just because the consensus view is that "nothing could have been", I don't think we should accept that until all the evidence is in. Obviously, if NASA was or should have been aware of the problem prior to the landing attempt, it is in NASA interest to spread the word that the vessel's fate was sealed at takeoff. Time will tell whether that is true.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Let's all remember it's easy to Monday morning quarterback. Could they have done something? Perhaps not, with their non-existent tile repair kit. "They knew," and "why didn't they fix it?" are not productive comments right now.

BUZZZZT....wrong answer...when human life is at stake its your honor and duty to do ANYTHING to save it. Saving human life goes beyond "regulations and procedures". This is negligence plain and simple.

[OXENinFLA]

Yeah, What is that?

[FReepaholic]

>>...They could have squeezed them into the space station....<<

Could not. Columbia could not reach the ISS. Columbia needed major mods to be able to do that.

[GraniteStateConservative]

I think the NASA budget is the same as it was many years ago-- under budgets from both Bush and Clinton. It hasn't even kept pace with inflation.

This could turn into a big Enron-life CF if Dems were still chairs of the Senate oversight committees.

[finnman69]

this morning they were discussing that some NASA engineers suggested trying to fly the shuttle in at an angle to better protect the damaged area , if that is even possible.

[HairOfTheDog]

Sadly...even if true, there is almost nothing that could have been done once launched. I hope we can learn for the future.

Agreed. All of the carrion birds are screeching and fighting and picking.

Now they found a memo. Of course there was a memo warning of what might happened. *What* pray tell, do we suppose they were talking about when they were meeting on the risk and effects of possible damage? Obviously there were warnings and scenarios discussed, obviously they stewed and figured, and obviously they made a judgment call. Every single decision in this business has serious implications. Sometimes they are right, and sometimes they are wrong. When they are wrong, there is a disaster, but no matter how high-tech, this will always be a very human process, with very human errors.

Those people at NASA have value too. It gives me a vicious pit in my stomach to hear instant know-it-alls on the news and here who not only think they know better, but are willing to destroy the people who really had their heart in this. We ask these folks for their judgment. We ask them to take these risks, and shame on us if we kick them while they are down. We can learn from this without ruining people, I hope they remember that.

[Timesink]

If there were serious concerns they should have left them in orbit until they were able to send up some kind of rescue vehicle, whether it be another shuttle or a russian caspule, whetever. The non-military people could have been evacuated. They could have squeezed them into the space station. There was no need to bring the shuttle back until they were convinced that it was safe.

I've read that the Columbia was the only shuttle incapable of docking with with the ISS, and they simply didn't have enough oxygen on board to last them as long as they'd have to wait for a hastily-thrown-together rescue mission. If the gash was for real, and was the cause, they were simply doomed from liftoff. The only possibility would have been to abort during liftoff, and I don't even know if they noticed the foam that quickly.

The only possiblity I've heard of is an emergency spacewalk, and everything I've heard about that is that it would be beyond dangerous, might save the shuttle but cost the life of whichever astronaut went outside, and just in general would have required NASA to be granted a level of divine luck a couple of orders of magnitude above what it took to save Apollo XIII.

[Mo1]

Sadly...even if true, there is almost nothing that could have been done once launched

True

[AppyPappy]

It looks like a faked picture to me.

[FReepaholic]

>>...Sure there was. Dock at the space station and return on the Soyuz capsule...<<

Nope. Not possible.