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To: txradioguy
>>>wouldn't it be safe to say that a piece of rigid foam insulation at mach 2 could do some pretty significant damage?<<<

But the piece of foam wasn't at Mach 2 relative to the Columbia wing. If you think about, it the foam had about 100ft +/- to accelerate from 0 mph relative to the wing to whatever speed it impacted at. That speed was certainly well below the speed of the entire shuttle/tank/solid rocked combination at that point. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say relative impact speed was below 200mph - but it could be determined accurately by time-lapse analysis of the film.

132 posted on 02/04/2003 10:20:24 PM PST by HardStarboard
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To: HardStarboard
I'd say relative impact speed was below 200mph - but it could be determined accurately by time-lapse analysis of the film.

Someone did just that, and estimated it at about 125mph, plus or minus about 30%.

When you calculate the total energy, it sounds like alot, but so is a slap in the face.

I am sure NASA has the data on that by now. They are working round the clock.

134 posted on 02/04/2003 10:29:40 PM PST by Cold Heat
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