NASA JSC Instructions for Uploading Images and Video Related to the Columbia Accident

Johnson Space Center ^ | 2-1-03 | NASA JSC

[bonesmccoy]

Instructions for Uploading Images and Video Related to the Columbia Accident

For anyone who has recorded video or taken photos that they believe may be of aid in the investigation of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, NASA has established a special location on the Web where Internet users may upload their media files to be reviewed by NASA.

Using the FTP method of your choice, log on to the server 38.201.67.72 as "anonymous," using your e-mail address as your password.

Example: User ID: anonymous Password: john_doe@hotmail.com

Along with any image or video file that you wish to upload, please include a text file containing your name and a detailed description of the time and location at which the image or video was taken.

Example: I, John Doe, recorded this video in my front yard at 1111 My Street in Nacogdoches, Texas, at 7:55 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003.

Please be sure that your media file and your text file conform to the following naming convention: your first and last name, an underscore, the date the files are being uploaded, another underscore and the time the files are being uploaded. Other than the file extension (.jpg, .txt, .rm), the names of the two files you upload should be the same.

Example: Image file: johndoe_020203_0415pm.jpg or Video file: johndoe_020203_0415pm.rm and Text file: johndoe_020203_0415pm.txt

Then, upload your media and text files.

Please note that files contained on this site are not listable. Therefore, users will not be able to view any files uploaded to the server, including their own.

If you have any problems uploading your files, please e-mail Mike Koester.

[bonesmccoy]

NASA has created an FTP site to submit information via the internet. The FTP server apparently is not searchable. Please do not unnecessarily hit the NASA server.

[DoughtyOne]

I would love to review anything submitted. Hope some of the private photos help. I believe some folks in California have some video. One person seems to video each one. We were talking about him on the web. I'll bet those are amazing. I've been somewhat surprised nothing came down before Texas in light of his observations. It seems to me that things breaking up over Ca would drift down a lot closer to there than Texas, in that they'd slow much faster against the atmosphere because they were lighter.

[coloradan]

At least they are only asking for digital copies of the files. When TWA 800 crashed, the FBI confiscated the photos, negatives, and in one case the camera, that were used to take pictures around the time TWA 800 went down.

[ken5050]

It would seem that the early, and possibly smaller pieces that first came off over California would burn apart as they hit the atmosphere......ergo, not much left of them...

[DoughtyOne]

That's a valid point Ken. If it was tiles though, at least a portion of them would remain.

[Stefan Stackhouse]

That's a valid point Ken. If it was tiles though, at least a portion of them would remain.

So that's pretty much talking about searching large portions of Nevada, Arizona, NM, and Texas for objects the size and appearance of pebbles! Seems like a pretty daunting task.

[DoughtyOne]

I'm not really advocating such. I simply remarking that there may have been debris fall before Texas.

The important thing to note is the destruct phase in totallity. It will likely aid in the assessment of what exatly transpired. Obtaining the initial tials that fell off would probably be of no value.

[DoughtyOne]

...ah make that tiles. LOL

[TXnMA]

As a Texas Historical Commission Archeological Steward, and lifelong member of the Texas Archeological Society (TAS), I received the following from one of the many professional archeologists in the TAS:

Should some provision be made (perhaps as a files search reply) to alert researchers that certain counties in East Texas are included in the "fall-out plume" of debris from the destroyed space shuttle? Certainly, any researcher working in that area now will be aware of the impact areas, but those working a few years down the line probably won't. Most of the debris will be found in a surface context, but it is likely some will be buried. Perhaps, the debris might still be (after a few years) important to NASA.

To which I replied,

One would hope that, if NASA really wants to enlist the help of the populace in locating shuttle debris, etc., and notifying them of its whereabouts, they would:

1) Make available on one of their websites a frequently-updated graphic of the debris field 'footprint'.

2} Add to the FTP site (See below) that NASA has established as a place for citizens to upload photos and videos, a data field for GPS coordinates.

< Snipped info from the article in this thread >

-------------------

[BTW, before someone wises off about my spelling, please be advised that, here in TX, "archaeology" is officially spelled without the "ae" diphthong].

Texas has an extensive and very active network of Volunteer Archeological Stewards working as a quasi-official extension of the Texas Historical Commission. It also has the TAS

http://www.txarch.org

whose membership includes virtually all of the professional archeologists in TX, plus well over a thousand trained and quasi-professional "avocational archeologists". Many of us have GPS equipment, and routinely use GPS coordinates for recording location of archeological features.

In fact, tomorrow, a group of us will be gathering (again) at the site of a (now-vanished) early (northeast TX) town to survey and map the location of structures there.

That townsite is probably on or near the northern limit of the debris field.

IMO, NASA would be well advised to coordinate with such a powerful composite of active and equipped searchers who are well trained to document and report the spatial coordinates of artifacts, etc.

I assume the e-mail address of the "Mike Koester" mentioned as contact person in the article above has an e-mail address something like, "Koester_M@NASA.gov" or something of the sort.

Does anyone here know who/where/how I can initiate contact with NASA to explore a possible link-up between NASA and the trained archeology cadre in Texas?

[My2Cents]

We seem to have become a nation which packs around video cameras wherever we go. In the case of this tragedy, that's a good thing.

[Taxman]

That was when Slick and his gang were running things. We have an honorable President now, and he is not afraid of the truth.

[bonesmccoy]

Yes.

I would call your Congressional office and suggest to your Congressman that the local students in the archeology departments are available to assist in debris recovery.

Additionally, you could attempt to call your local law enforcement office and suggest that the civilian students join the recovery effort.

[bonesmccoy]

Yes. I was thinking the same thing.

However, the real culprit structure will never be located.

If the TPS was lost over a wing structure, the metal would have burned and been destroyed during reentry. The TV news reporters have been jumping to the conclusion that the orbiter TPS was impacted adversely by the ET debris at T+80 sec.

Initially, my view was that the shedding of debris from the ET was unlikely to have created a significant TPS loss because the TPS has taken hits from ET debris in the past. However, the size of the ET debris appears greater than any previous hit on the orbiter. Sadly, the impact occurred on the undersurface of the vehicle, out of view of the cameras.

If, indeed, the ET debris caused the damage to the orbiter's TPS, they need to identify if there was a change in the formulation of the insulation layers on the ET.

[Registered]

I wonder how many folks are uploading their eBay auction images?