Columbia Discussion thread

Feb 1, 2003

[Admin Moderator]

'

On behalf of posters on Free Republic, I post this with deepest sympathy for the crew and their families.

Mission - sts107

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This is a continuation of the original thread.

Shuttle Contact LOST-No Tracking Data During RE-Entry!

ANY DU LINKS OR POSTS WILL BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY. Keep them on the original thread.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Thanks for the pics...

[AshleyMontagu]

I did hear it. I was switching between CNN and FNC so it could have been the evil network. Did anyone else hear about the Indian woman's goof up on her last flight? If I'm wrong about this I apologize. But the rest of my opinion still stands.

[hispanarepublicana]

And what's with the bonehead Indian gal onboard?

And what's with the bonehead onboard FR?

[Dave S]

My husband said he thought he heard on the news that there are three still at the space station - has anyone heard anything about this?

The astronauts on the space station have nothing to do with the shuttle astronauts. The shuttle this time didnt even visit the space station. The people on the space station have been there for months.

[bonesmccoy]

We need to establish video standards for capture and posting of images. "Timesink" had an image of a piece of debris that looks like part of the Lab module. It's charred and looks to be about 5 feet across.

[rintense]

He did say that, Howlin. I heard it too and posted it back in the thread... The gal from India made a mistake with some satellite, and the other astronauts had to do a space walk to retrieve it.

[Mamzelle]

I hear you. But you don't know how many foulups happen, I don't think, in any mission flight. Sometimes even by those with incredible experience, and my cursory reading of these resumes--there's not a whole lot of experience added together.

Fouling up--That's the whole point of science. She wasn't the pilot, after all.

You might as well point out what lousy pilots doctors make--I've heard that one before, too. Crash more small craft than anyone.

[Movemout]

"We depended on oneway rockets (Russian) to get most of the heavy stuff up there. Those were pretty dependable. The ISS does not have to be abandoned. "

I'm not concerned with getting stuff up. I'm concerned with keeping the ISS up. As you may recall, the shuttle is used to boost ISS into a higher orbit periodically. There are no Russian options for doing that as far as I know. It is highly unlikely that a shuttle will fly for a long time.

[Howlin]

For those of us who don't know as much as you guys do, what does that mean?

[hispanarepublicana]

Eeeek. This "bonehead" meant to post that reply to AshleyMontagu.

[rintense]

She isn't trashing her!!! FNC has reported this! Chad, leave her alone. She is only repeating what FNC has said!

[Howlin]

Ture, I hadn't thought of that.

[bonesmccoy]

That's a tile piece from the underside of the wing.

You can tell because the corner of the tile is chipped and you can see the silica under the chipped surface.

[Ichneumon]

If there had been some sort of missile

The shuttle was too high for any missile to reach, and flying too fast for any missile to catch.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Why don't you go join the folks over at DU? I see no difference between you and them... You both lack a basic decency and humanity...

[AshleyMontagu]

He did say that, Howlin. I heard it too and posted it back in the thread... The gal from India made a mistake with some satellite, and the other astronauts had to do a space walk to retrieve it.

Thank you.

[Dog]

I am watching NBC....becuase I like Jay Barbree's NASA knowledge.....but Brian Williams is working on my nerves...

[Arkinsaw]

Columbia is out of communications with flight controllers in Houston. Now 15 minutes from landing time. 1359 GMT (8:59 a.m. EST)

At an altitude of 40 miles, shuttle Columbia has entered Texas.

1357 GMT (8:57 a.m. EST) The shuttle is now 43 miles over New Mexico. Columbia is now reversing its bank to the left to further reduce speed.

This sequence indicates that they WERE in the S-turns to bleed off energy. That means some mighty powerful aerodynamic forces. Any little failure at this point could be bad. It could be a thousand things.

[McLynnan]

I was quoting another poster. The "bonehead" comment wasn't mine. In fact, I'm appalled by it.

[LadyDoc]

Kalpana Chawla did India proud

PTI[ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 2003 09:25:13 PM ]

WASHINGTON: Kalpana Chawla, who is feared to have perished in the Columbia space shuttle mishap along with six others, had done India proud when she embarked on her first space mission on November 19, 1997.

The Karnal-born Chawla, the first Indian American astronaut, began her career at the Ames Research Center at Nasa in 1988.

A graduate in aeronautical engineering from the Punjab Engineering College she began work at the Ames in the area of fluid dynamics.

Following her successful tenure at the Ames, Chawla in 1993 joined the Overset Methods Inc in California as vice president and a research scientist in charge of simulating various body functions for future space missions.

Nasa selected Chawla as an astronaut candidate in 1994 and she joined the 15th group of astronauts in March 1995.

After an year of training and evaluation, Chawla was assigned as a crew representative to work on technical issues for Nasa's Astronaut Office Extra Vehicular Activities, Robotics, dealing in space walks.

She was instrumental in the testing space control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory.

Chawla's received recognition here and was assigned as mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on the STS-87 and was involved in the manual capture of an orbiting satellite.

Born in Karnal in Punjab, Chawla did her schooling from the Tagore School in the city and took a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Punjab Engineering College.

She went on to complete her Masters from the University of Texas in 1984 earned a doctorate from the University of Colorado.