Air Force imagery confirms Columbia wing damaged (with picture)

Space Flght Now ^ | 7 Feb 03 | CRAIG COVAULT

[Admin Moderator]

Being that this thread is the fourth posting of the same article, I don't think it qualifies. The first posting of it, yes. Any since then, no. Thanks, AM

[TLBSHOW]

bttt

[Kevin Curry]

Attention all viewers: this imagery may have been deliberately reduced in resolution so as not to compromise USAF asset capabilities

Exactly.

[Lady Jag]

I made the images vertical because it was easier for my brain to sort out the differences between the two.

[LimitedPowers]

From the NASA website:

This image is a view of the underside of Columbia during its entry from mission STS-107 on Feb. 1, 2003, as it passed by the Starfire Optical Range, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N. M.

Ah, that explains everything! They were watching the shuttle fly over through one of their fancy targeting systems and -- whooops! -- "Hey, Fred, don't lean over on the console like that!"

[Chad Fairbanks]

ROTFL

[Kevin Curry]

The Starfire telescope can recognize features as small as 1 foot long from 600 miles away . . .

Given Columbia's altitude, that means features as small as three-quarters of an inch could be resolved. Maybe better.

The real high-res pictures ought to disclose very dramatic evidence.

[Enlightiator]

I appreciate the reply and the consideration of putting this back in breaking news or front page news. You are correct, there have been previous posts of this story, but my point was that this is the first, not the fourth, posted article to actually provide the photo itself that provides such strong evidence of prior damage to the Columbia's leading edge. But I do see that someone has now posted the image in one of the earlier threads that was on front page news, so its pretty much immaterial now:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/837858/posts

Just curious, are there any provisions for keeping significant stories such as this in the breaking news or front page news sidebar for longer periods before they are bumped by some of the more mundane stories that typically appear(and are currently appearing) in the sidebars? At the present time, I don't see ANY articles concerning this big story in either front page or breaking news....someone coming onto FreeRepublic at this time may not even have an idea of this big news.

[brityank]

Thanks. Theirs just looks totally wrong, as the entire side is out of kilter nose to tail. Also, the original is supposed to be an infrared pic -- if so, they've reversed the coloration (like a negative) and smudged the true tint, as IR shows white for heat and black for cool.

[brityank]

Also, I can't believe that the whole shuttle would present the same IR coloration across the entire body. The center/rear should be cooler than the edges and nose.

[Enlightiator]

The sensor pattern could be explained by failure of the wheel well door. Could that have worked its way forward to the wing damage seen?

You're ahead of me here, I have a slow modem connection and I'm still downloading the big jpg files to review. Let me get back to you! For reference to others, here are the NASA graphics showing the left wing sensor behavior during the Columbia descent:

http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/investigation/sensors/index.html

[Lady Jag]

With all the variables, there is no way one could determine extent of damage.

[IVAXMAN]

Take a look at a color pic of same shot.
Paste into photoshop and blow up 200-400%.
Even better detail. Evidently this was the higher resolution picture being displayed on an overhead presentation.

http://www.spacedaily.com/

[ApesForEvolution]

LOL! Out of respect I won't go any further down that road...reminds me of a Sesame Street sketch.

[ApesForEvolution]

Loch Ness sightings...

[eno_]

Yup, Starfire is pretty hot stuff. "Ordinary" gyro-stabilized TV cameras can see a few miles. If you have a Star Wars budget, you can do considerably better, especially if the primary goal is to compensate for atmospheric distortion. Sub-1" resolution at 200k feet (40 miles) is not outside what one would expect from something meant to study how to find and shoot incoming MIRVs.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Thanks for that comparison. I find the top photo to be revealing..

[Taffini]

What the heck is that?

I dont know, but I think I'm afraid to ask...

I MUST SAY, IT DOES LOOK FAMILIAR.....

[Jael]

Bump.