Shuttle Doomed at Takeoff (Astronauts doomed from the start)

abc news ^ | 4/18/2003 | Lisa Stark and Gina Treadgold

[TLBSHOW]

flashback;

Posted on 02/02/2003 9:35 PM EST by TLBSHOW

Astronauts doomed from the start

THE seven astronauts on space shuttle Columbia may have been doomed in the first moments after they were shot into space 16 days ago.

NASA officials are investigating whether loose foam from an external tank that struck Columbia's left wing during takeoff contributed to its disintegration under the stress of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere – one of the most dangerous parts of any shuttle mission. The last words between mission control at Houston and shuttle commander Rick Husband gave no clue of impending disaster:

Mission control: "Columbia, Houston, we see your tyre pressure messages and we did not copy your last."

Cdr Husband: "Roger, but . . ." No more was heard.

The homeward-bound space shuttle broke up in flames and trails of smoke and vapour over Texas yesterday, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

Astronauts doomed from the start

[dinok]

They would not have been doomed if we had a back up shuttle ready everytime we sent one up. The shuttle was up long enough for a shuttle to have been fueled and launched.

This was suggested years ago after the first disaster...but the acountants nixed the idea.

[IronJack]

Interesting how the furor over this event died so quickly. It barely makes the papers with so much else going on.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Actually they could have jettisoned the pod had the timing been right.

[dinok]

Either way...the process is flawed.
No back up...

[TLBSHOW]

ping

[Stars N Stripes]

Going into space is dangerous... Thank God these wonderful people were willing to take the risk and challenge the odds. We are all better off for it.

[twntaipan]

Ultimately the died because of politically correct foam.

[twntaipan]

That should say: Ultimately they died because of politically correct foam.

[konaice]

If they had been paying attention to the data they could
have aborted to Rota, Spain before even getting to orbit.

[TLBSHOW]

nasaproblems.com
April 7, 2003

Space Shuttle Columbia is gone... but has the countdown already started for a third shuttle disaster? There were two reasons for the Columbia disaster: a system failure and a management failure. We may never know the exact cause for the system failure, but the reasons for the management failures are there for all to see. Unless the Office of the President and Congress address the following management failures... then indeed, the countdown has already started for the third shuttle disaster!

NASA Memo: "support a launch opportunity as early as Fall of 2003."

http://www.nasaproblems.com/

[#3Fan]

Now one piece of the puzzle has been revealed. I still think that the foam was weighed down with ice from it's splattering pattern when it struck the wing.

[Sangamon Kid]

Astronauts doomed from the start.

Aren't we all?

[bellevuesbest]

Jettison what pod? and when? What are you talking about?

Seems there's a provocative design problem with the external tank foam and launching in the winter. Having a hot back up is certainly not a bad idea, nor to always launch with the Space Station as a life boat option.

[Calpernia]

Ping

[B-Chan]

And, just in the nick of time...

Mojave, California, April 18, 2003:

Scaled Composites today unveiled the existence of a commercial manned space program. This previously hidden, active research program has been in the works at its facility for two years. This program includes an airborne launcher (the White Knight), a space ship (SpaceShipOne), rocket propulsion, avionics, simulator and ground support elements.

Master of Ceremonies Cliff Robertson introduced Burt Rutan who explained the history and the components of the program. Other dignitaries who attended the event were Dr. Maxim Faget (pioneer configuratioin designer of the early NASA space program from the Mercury through the Apollo programs), Erik Lindbergh (grandson of Charles Lindbergh and President of the Lindbergh Foundation), and Dennis Tito (Soyuz space tourist).

Further information about the space program and high-resolution photographs are available at the Scaled Composites website: www.scaled.com.

Photo of spacecraft

These are not models, mockups, or non-flying prototypes. That is a real spaceship sitting on the tarmac there. The mothership White Knight has been flying for almost a year.

American ingenuity triumphs again.

[ironman]

"If they had been paying attention to the data they could
have aborted to Rota, Spain before even getting to orbit."

Can you square your statement with this from the article:
"None of the information from the recorder could have helped save the doomed shuttle. It was not available to ground control at launch, and controllers would not have noticed the spike until the shuttle landed and, weeks later, analyzed the data."

[aristeides]

Guess you were right all along. Somehow I suspect the people who should now be apologizing to you will not.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I call it a pod because thats what they are in, but you can bring the orbiter back down 1 Engine BEN, last chance TAL is Morocco on two engines, right before ECO. Sorry if my lingo didn't make sense or was of technical nature. Figured anyone who knew, would know what I was referring to.

No one has ever mentioned the possibility of woodpecker damage to it.

[konaice]

"Can you square your statement with this from the article: "
Proves my point.

They had data, but did not bother to watch it or (apparently) even trasmit it to ground or cockpit.

The data was clearly out of norm.

If even a rudimentary computer analysis was watching this it would have stood out like a sore thumb.

See how wounderfull hind sight is?