Something's Up With The Space Shuttle (Missing)

[charrison]

Originally posted by: FrontlineWarrior
I dunno if this has been posted or not, but is this true?

http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/

"These are the days of miracle and wonder," sang Paul Simon in the 1980s. It ran through my head all morning, from out of nowhere, and I think I know why. It has to do with the impossibility, the sheer implausibility, of the facts. We are on the verge of war in the Mideast, a war springing in its modern origins from the tensions of the Arab-Israeli conflict; our president, a Texan, believes we must move on Iraq. The space shuttle that broke up today carried, for the first time ever, a Mideastern astronaut, an Israeli who won fame when he led a daring raid on a nuclear reactor in Iraq, 20 years ago. The shuttle broke up over the president's home state, Texas. The center of the debris field appears to be a little town called Palestine.

Rather ironic dont you think? I dont know if Palestine is the center, but i know stuff has been falling there.

 

[Wag]

Rather ironic dont you think?

What's ironic about it?
This only has relevance to the same people who said the Israeli Mosaad was responsible for 9/11, or that the moonlanding was a staged Hollywood production.

You want to say it's an "Act of God"? Fine, I'll agree with you. If I told you the dump I took earlier this afternoon was also an "Act of God", would you agree? Same difference.

 

I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

Your Avatar describes you very well, how do YOU think we are going to get the very large and heavy space station modules up into orbit ?

No other space vehicle is capable of doing this.

 

[Mill]

I was talking to some of my relatives in Tyler and they told me at least a few people have already been detained/arrested by the FBI. My Uncle is an administrator for a hospital in Texas and they had some people show up because they had picked up some debris and had been riding around with it in their car for several hours. They heard on the radio that it was hazardous so they went to the hospital. They were decontaminated in a parking deck and then checked out. It turned out they were fine and the material was not harmful to them. Before they could leave, however, the FBI showed up and took them away for questioning.

Why would you take debris to begin with? People always try to capitalize on tragedy and it makes me sick.

 

[UF Jspec]

RIP astronauts.

God bless. I am deeply saddened by this.

 

[GroundedSailor]

They just announced in the NASA briefing that they found remains of all the astronauts. No further details.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped
I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

LMAO... do you know just how well your name fits you?

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: GroundedSailor
They just announced in the NASA briefing that they found remains of all the astronauts. No further details.

Whoa, seriously? Is there a link for this yet?

 

[Ime]

This is going to sound terrible, but in a way it is a good thing they found the remains. Some people have an easier time accepting loss if they have something to bury.

Just read on CNN that the Shuttle's flight computers reported a serious increase in drag on the left side and that right wing controls automatically started rolling Columbia to the right to compensate.

I'm more than 50% convinced now that the left wing was the point of failure (exactly what caused that failure remains to be seen). What sucks is, even if NASA had known that the left wing was so badly damaged that the shuttle would break up on re-entry, there would have been nothing they could do. NASA has said they have no way to repair the Shuttle in orbit.

I'm not saying NASA knew and did not tell anyone, I'm sure they would never do that. What I'm saying is it was probably better that no one knew that the left wing was so badly damaged. After all, how would you like to be stuck in orbit with the choice between a cold death in space or a hot death on re-entry?

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: StattlichPassat

Originally posted by: SuperTool
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped
I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

LMAO... do you know just how well your name fits you?

Really? Care to elaborate? Did you read the article?
We need 100 tonn payload to send 7 people into orbit?
It's a bit like driving a big rig to the grocery store.
If it costs 500 Million for a shuttle to launch 7 people and 50 million for Soyuz to launch 3 people, what exactly are we saving through reusability?
If Space Shuttle has killed 14 astronauts in 20 years, and Soyuz has killed 4 cosmonauts in 40 years, what kind of safety record is that?
The main unique use of the Shuttle is that you can go to orbit, pick up a satellite, and come back.
For most jobs the Space Shuttle is an overkill. Russians built a space shuttle Buran, and cut their losses after the first flight. It wasn't worth it.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: GroundedSailor
They just announced in the NASA briefing that they found remains of all the astronauts. No further details.

Confirmed.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: StattlichPassat

Originally posted by: SuperTool
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped
I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

LMAO... do you know just how well your name fits you?

Really? Care to elaborate? Did you read the article?
We need 100 tonn payload to send 7 people into orbit?
It's a bit like driving a big rig to the grocery store.
If it costs 500 Million for a shuttle to launch 7 people and 50 million for Soyuz to launch 3 people, what exactly are we saving through reusability?
If Space Shuttle has killed 14 astronauts in 20 years, and Soyuz has killed 4 cosmonauts in 40 years, what kind of safety record is that?
The main unique use of the Shuttle is that you can go to orbit, pick up a satellite, and come back.
For most jobs the Space Shuttle is an overkill. Russians built a space shuttle Buran, and cut their losses after the first flight. It wasn't worth it.

I agree, we built a space truck, maybe it is time to build the space car.

 

[Pastfinder]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: StattlichPassat

Originally posted by: SuperTool
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped
I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

LMAO... do you know just how well your name fits you?

Really? Care to elaborate? Did you read the article?
We need 100 tonn payload to send 7 people into orbit?
It's a bit like driving a big rig to the grocery store.
If it costs 500 Million for a shuttle to launch 7 people and 50 million for Soyuz to launch 3 people, what exactly are we saving through reusability?
If Space Shuttle has killed 14 astronauts in 20 years, and Soyuz has killed 4 cosmonauts in 40 years, what kind of safety record is that?
The main unique use of the Shuttle is that you can go to orbit, pick up a satellite, and come back.
For most jobs the Space Shuttle is an overkill. Russians built a space shuttle Buran, and cut their losses after the first flight. It wasn't worth it.

I agree, we built a space truck, maybe it is time to build the space car.

The Soyuz can take men into space, little else. The point of the shuttle is to expand our options into space. It has been time for a shuttle replacement. However, the government and the majority of stupid americans feel that unless they get an immediate return on their investment, space exploration and manned space flight is a waste of money. It is easy to condemn the shuttle, but until some lazy ass like yourself bothers to do something, we don't have many options now do we?

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Pastfinder

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: StattlichPassat

Originally posted by: SuperTool
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped
I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

LMAO... do you know just how well your name fits you?

Really? Care to elaborate? Did you read the article?
We need 100 tonn payload to send 7 people into orbit?
It's a bit like driving a big rig to the grocery store.
If it costs 500 Million for a shuttle to launch 7 people and 50 million for Soyuz to launch 3 people, what exactly are we saving through reusability?
If Space Shuttle has killed 14 astronauts in 20 years, and Soyuz has killed 4 cosmonauts in 40 years, what kind of safety record is that?
The main unique use of the Shuttle is that you can go to orbit, pick up a satellite, and come back.
For most jobs the Space Shuttle is an overkill. Russians built a space shuttle Buran, and cut their losses after the first flight. It wasn't worth it.

I agree, we built a space truck, maybe it is time to build the space car.

The Soyuz can take men into space, little else. The point of the shuttle is to expand our options into space. It has been time for a shuttle replacement. However, the government and the majority of stupid americans feel that unless they get an immediate return on their investment, space exploration and manned space flight is a waste of money. It is easy to condemn the shuttle, but until some lazy ass like yourself bothers to do something, we don't have many options now do we?

Sigh.
I have not condemned the shuttle, it has its purposes. But, it it is a 30 year old design that could easily be improved upon. If we are going to have a permanent space station, having a "space car" also makes sense.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: Pastfinder

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: StattlichPassat

Originally posted by: SuperTool
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped
I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

LMAO... do you know just how well your name fits you?

Really? Care to elaborate? Did you read the article?
We need 100 tonn payload to send 7 people into orbit?
It's a bit like driving a big rig to the grocery store.
If it costs 500 Million for a shuttle to launch 7 people and 50 million for Soyuz to launch 3 people, what exactly are we saving through reusability?
If Space Shuttle has killed 14 astronauts in 20 years, and Soyuz has killed 4 cosmonauts in 40 years, what kind of safety record is that?
The main unique use of the Shuttle is that you can go to orbit, pick up a satellite, and come back.
For most jobs the Space Shuttle is an overkill. Russians built a space shuttle Buran, and cut their losses after the first flight. It wasn't worth it.

I agree, we built a space truck, maybe it is time to build the space car.

The Soyuz can take men into space, little else. The point of the shuttle is to expand our options into space. It has been time for a shuttle replacement. However, the government and the majority of stupid americans feel that unless they get an immediate return on their investment, space exploration and manned space flight is a waste of money. It is easy to condemn the shuttle, but until some lazy ass like yourself bothers to do something, we don't have many options now do we?

NASA tried several times already to make a new spacecraft after Shuttle, with zero success. It just doesn't make sense for Lockheed/Boeing to develop a new cheaper technology when the Space Shuttle is a cash cow better than they could hope for. If they can make 500 Million per launch, why would they build a vehicle that can do it for 50 Mil? Until NASA gets serious about replacing the Shuttle and saving money, there is no incentive to develop a new machine.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: Pastfinder

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: StattlichPassat

Originally posted by: SuperTool
The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped
I totally agree. It's corporate welfare that is paid for with our taxes and astranauts lives. There is no need for the Shuttle.

LMAO... do you know just how well your name fits you?

Really? Care to elaborate? Did you read the article?
We need 100 tonn payload to send 7 people into orbit?
It's a bit like driving a big rig to the grocery store.
If it costs 500 Million for a shuttle to launch 7 people and 50 million for Soyuz to launch 3 people, what exactly are we saving through reusability?
If Space Shuttle has killed 14 astronauts in 20 years, and Soyuz has killed 4 cosmonauts in 40 years, what kind of safety record is that?
The main unique use of the Shuttle is that you can go to orbit, pick up a satellite, and come back.
For most jobs the Space Shuttle is an overkill. Russians built a space shuttle Buran, and cut their losses after the first flight. It wasn't worth it.

I agree, we built a space truck, maybe it is time to build the space car.

The Soyuz can take men into space, little else. The point of the shuttle is to expand our options into space. It has been time for a shuttle replacement. However, the government and the majority of stupid americans feel that unless they get an immediate return on their investment, space exploration and manned space flight is a waste of money. It is easy to condemn the shuttle, but until some lazy ass like yourself bothers to do something, we don't have many options now do we?

NASA tried several times already to make a new spacecraft after Shuttle, with zero success. It just doesn't make sense for Lockheed/Boeing to develop a new cheaper technology when the Space Shuttle is a cash cow better than they could hope for. If they can make 500 Million per launch, why would they build a vehicle that can do it for 50 Mil? Until NASA gets serious about replacing the Shuttle and saving money, there is no incentive to develop a new machine.

Because they can sell 10 of them and still get fat maintance contracts.

 

[Gujski]

Originally posted by: Ime
This is going to sound terrible, but in a way it is a good thing they found the remains. Some people have an easier time accepting loss if they have something to bury.

Just read on CNN that the Shuttle's flight computers reported a serious increase in drag on the left side and that right wing controls automatically started rolling Columbia to the right to compensate.

I'm more than 50% convinced now that the left wing was the point of failure (exactly what caused that failure remains to be seen). What sucks is, even if NASA had known that the left wing was so badly damaged that the shuttle would break up on re-entry, there would have been nothing they could do. NASA has said they have no way to repair the Shuttle in orbit.

I'm not saying NASA knew and did not tell anyone, I'm sure they would never do that. What I'm saying is it was probably better that no one knew that the left wing was so badly damaged. After all, how would you like to be stuck in orbit with the choice between a cold death in space or a hot death on re-entry?

They could not even have off loaded to the Space station as i beleive the Columbia was the only shuttle not equipped with a docking ring...

 

[her209]

OMG, the pin fell out!!

 

[VitoP]

Does anyone know if the astronauts and/or crew aboard the ISS performed a complete visual inspection of the Columbia before its departure on Saturday morning?

Is a visual inspection included in the departure checklist?

VitoPrimo

 

[dakata24]

big What IF:

what if once the shuttle got into orbit. that ground control accessed that the foam that had hit the shuttle left wing had seriously damaged it.

it has been said that columbia was unable to rendevous with the international space station since it didnt have equipment to dock with it. as well, since it didnt have it's robotic arm it would have been able to even examine the left wing.. let alone have the equipment/expertise to fix it (i hear that they are specially fit on the shuttle).

as i was saying, what if that happened. if they couldnt do anything to fix the problem, were they just supposed to go into re-entry knowing that there was a high probabilty of failure upon re-entry or what?

i was reading a washington post article saying that the reason they began using the tiles vs the graphite (forgot exactly what it was) compound on previous capsules (in which during re-entry, it would burn up protecting the capsules) was because the shuttles were reuseable. i wonder if it would have been feasable to put this older protective material underneath the tiles as added protection along with the tiles as the primary way in protecting the shuttle..

still shocking and sad..

 

[Savatage]

I first heard of this that early morning from your post here. I was 21 at the time the Challenger disaster. Bring back very bad memories to see this happen again.

 

[Daxxax]

Originally posted by: rickn

Originally posted by: Babbles
What really bothers me now is that I have always assumed with the speed, friction, and altitude that the crew would have been cremated instantly; painless. However, after they find a patch, helmet, and body parts I am so afraid that they may have suffered as the shuttle broke up around them. And that, is not something I truly wish to ponder.

it happened so fast, I doubt they suffered at all. at that altitude and speed, im sure their lungs were probably crushed or collapsed. I'm pretty positive it was a very painless death, yet a very senseless death as well. But, they didn't die in vain.

From the time the shuttle started to overheat till the time it actually broke apart, they may of suffered. Hopefully it did not last to long. The heat probably just kept building and building till eventually something snapped. I don't mean to sound morbid but once the upper cabin broke apart and their bodies were exposed to the speed, heat, and the pressure difference they were ripped to shreds instantly. At that speed your body would go from being fully intact to being a skeleton in microseconds. The wind sheer would literally peel you apart. When I was stationed at Seymour Johnson AFB we lost a F-15E Fighter over the Atlantic. The pilot and Weapons officer both ejected while the plane was going about 350mph. Because of the excessive speed only one of them lived but both of his legs and both of his arms were broken from the impact of the wind sheer. I think he broke some of his ribs and his lungs collapsed too. He was in really bad shape. And that was only 350 mph??? I could not imagine what 12,500 mph would do to a human body. It's beyond comprehension.

 

[thEnEuRoMancER]

Does anyone have a link to the Shuttle over California video?

 

[CaptnKirk]

It's on CNN.Com But only as a paid subscriber.

 

[techfuzz]

RIP Columbia and her crew

techfuzz