[Cold Heat]

Thanks for the ping. This timeline reads like a bad ending movie. I am glad that I read it, but so sad again.

Going off line for a bit to regroup.

[meema]

bump.
too sad to read now.

[sam_paine]

Sad indeed. Sad for the humanity, certainly. The loss of the crew is immense.
 
But what is so compelling to me is the reaction time of man vs. machine.
 
This may sound new age gaga, but to me, the onboard computers/systems were designed with the "soul" of human programming/design (if short then fail, if fail then bypass, etc.) Together in the massive system, the little bits sing together in concert.
 
So many successive "decisions" being made by Columbia, as the situation worsened: Nerve endings (sensors) melting away in the trauma. Autonomic muscle (elevon/RCS) systems trying to recover the body's faltering step like a soldier shot in the leg.
 
Columbia "knew" more than any human that it was hurt. And it knew it so much faster. It grunted the tell-tale telemetry and finally yelped a few alarms. The crew, like that soldier's brain, was ultimately helpless, as were all the humans below.
 
I'm sure most would disagree with me, but I see a spirit of a sort, a soul if you will, in the Columbia's last dance. She did everything she could to survive, and to deliver her crew safely, but fate overwhelmed her.
 
God rest all of them.

[brityank]

What gets me is just how little time the folks on the ground had to realize that things were going horribly wrong. The same could happen with a bolt smashing through the wing; there's a lot of area with no sensors, and a lot of junk flying around that is too small to detect, and with the sound insulation of the cabin and it's forward location from the wing area it's doubtful that such a strike would even be heard.

[mikegi]

I agree. I'm an engineer by training and can read almost all of it with detachment, but this quote from Husband is chilling:

08:46:56 a.m. - STS-ICOM: Husband: "Yep. Yeah, you definitely don't want to be outside now."

Thirteen minutes later, during the time of maximum heating, he was "outside" and in the "blast furnace".