[Tom D.]

Environmentalists kill. Here we have some of our best and brightest killed because politicians and bureaucrats are afraid to stand up to the zero tolerance crowd and say CFC's are necessary. As a result, seven people are dead, but this is a drop in the bucket. How many people are dead for want of DDT? How many people die each year because of CAFE standards? It is time for the public to realize that the feel good, half-witted measures forced down our throats by the environmental Nazis have a real cost not just in dollars, but in terms of lives.

[mewzilla]

So why didn't NASA put it's collective foot down? Blame the greenies, but I didn't see NASA kicking and screaming.

[facedown]

bump

[bmwcyle]

From the Data

[winodog]

I was under the impression the freon was used to "glue" the foam to the tank. This article say's the foam was made with freon. Any experts out there to clear this up?

[aristeides]

In 2001, the EPA exempted NASA from the CFC phase-out: The shuttle's use wasn't important. Most CFC use was in consumer products (including air conditioners, refrigerators, aerosol cans, etc.). Yet NASA didn't return to the safer Freon-based foam. Instead, it continued to risk tile damage and disaster with PC-foam.

Hmmm. Smoking foam?

I heard on the radio this morning that the investigation is being transferred to a body independent of NASA. Somebody was listening.

[sam_paine]

Death by Environmentalism?

[snopercod]

Gracey, I stand corrected.

Tom, see this post about the use of the "environmentally-friendly" solvents and adhesives causing O-ring blowby on the boosters. This has been covered up to a much greater extent than the ET foam, as a google.com search will confirm for you.

If you will continue to read in that thread, there is evidence that Marshall Space Flight Center wrote the specifications for these new cleaners so that only one company could qualify.

It would be interesting to know to whom these companies made political contributions, if any.

[Contra]

Well Democrats say that Republicans murder old people and children, so turn about is fair play. Democrats and wacko environmentalists, lead by none other than Bill Clinton/Al Gore and their radical, left wing administration, murdered seven Shuttle Columbia astronauts. Have the authorities taken Big Bill into custody yet?

[Ole Okie]

Here we have some of our best and brightest killed because politicians and bureaucrats are afraid to stand up to the zero tolerance crowd and say CFC's are necessary.

Enviroweenies got Columbia, in all probability.

The EPA exempted the ET foam from CFC restrictions. Yet NASA didn't take the obvious step of going back to Freon use to correct an identified problem.

Political correctness uber alles.

[lepton]

1994-05-04 Advances in Science

"The Air Force is reacting to the EPA ban on CFC's by replacing
them in the cooling systems of the intercontinental (ballistic)
missiles with 2 to 10 nuclear warheads on board. If they are ever
fired, it will be an environmentally friendly nuclear holocaust,
not threatening the Ozone layer."
-- Access to Energy, July 1993

[Lancey Howard]

Yet NASA didn't return to the safer Freon-based foam. Instead, it continued to risk tile damage and disaster with PC-foam..... Now, in what smacks of cover-up, NASA claims the Columbia disaster has become a scientific mystery. It says computer modeling fails to show foam striking the thermal tiles could cause catastrophic damage - apparently ignoring that flaking foam substantially penetrated thermal tiles on an earlier flight.

Wow. BUMP

[537 Votes]

Never A Straight Answer.

[Redleg Duke]

Great! Feed the paranoids!

[CyberAnt]

Well ... the new independent panel to investigate this mess has now taken over - and I read a comment which stated that all events at lift-off have been placed back on the table, including the suspect foam.

[MrConfettiMan]

Ping.

[DoughtyOne]

Up to fifteen inches long, up to 1.5 inches deep.

Nah, this 20" x 16" x 6" piece of insullation obviously had nothing to do with damage to the wing. LMAO

The call for a independent commission is right on target!

[nutmeg]

bttt