Updated Information On Columbia Shuttle Tragedy

Thanks to all the readers who have sent links related to today's shuttle disaster. An Associated Press story carried on Salon says that an independent board (with members from the Air Force, Navy, Transportation Department and other federal agencies) has been appointed to investigate the disaster. CNN is carrying official statement from President Bush. Rediff.com has an article on the life of Indian astronaut Kalpana Chawla. borisonanovitch points to "more info on the science aboard Columbia and links to other NASA research." fabel reminds us "Most of the media is focusing on the slight damage that ocurred at takeoff (that NASA discounted at the time) but STS-107 was *delayed* for 6 months (original launch date 19 Jul 2003) Update: 02/01 23:51 GMT by T : [Note, should read "2002."] because of cracks in the propellant feed lines to the 3 main engines. A defect that could have caused catastrophic failure. Did the fix work or not?"

Comments

Re:S - Roll

[eericson]

Basically it's the same thing you do when you're skiing and want to bleed off speed. It's a pretty common aviation maneuver used to bleed off speed, or in the case of general aviation, to check your blind spots before landing.

Essentially, it's a series of slow, lazy turns from side to side in a sort of half figure eight (resembling and S, ergo: S turns).

-E2

NASA Asks for help

[C60]

From the NASA press releases mailing list:

NASA ASKS FOR HELP WITH COLUMBIA INVESTIGATION

Robert Mirelson
Headquarters, Washington Feb. 1, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1600) 5 p.m. EST

Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281-483-5111)

RELEASE: 03-033

NASA ASKS FOR HELP WITH COLUMBIA INVESTIGATION

NASA has established a telephone hotline and electronic
mail address for the public to use for reporting information
that may help investigators studying today's Space Shuttle
mishap.

Anyone who discovers debris from the accident or who has film
or video evidence that may be of value to the investigation
team is urged to use these contacts. Please avoid contact with
any debris, because it may be hazardous as a result of toxic
propellants aboard the Shuttle.

Telephone reports should be directed to the following number:

281/483-3388

Text reports and images should be e-mailed to:

nasamitimages@jsc.nasa.gov

The e-mail address is:
columbiaimages@nasa.gov

All debris is U.S. Government property and is critical to the
investigation of the mishap. All debris from the accident is
to be left alone and reported to Government authorities.
Unauthorized persons found in possession of accident debris
will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Video: Columbia's Last Transmission

[crashnbur]

This Fox News video of their first airing of the last transmission from the astronauts around 9:00am ET also provides insight into what might have happened. (If using Windows Media Player, right click on the preview-ad, click "Navigate", then "Skip Forward" to jump to the actual coverage.)

Shawn Shephard discusses the potential "tire pressure problem". From the video:

A tire explosion could very well take a door off. Underneath the tires would be all sorts of hydrolics ... which could have caused massive problems.

Re: Video: Columbia's Last Transmission

[Black Parrot]

> Shawn Shephard discusses the potential "tire pressure problem".

The spokesman at the extended NASA press conference this afternoon indicated that the "pressure problem" was simply a loss of signal from those sensors... just like all the other sensor failures. (He originally said that they had detected some high temperatures at the wheels, but during the questioning he explicitely corrected himself and said that the sensors went to zero rather than showing high.)

All the symptoms indicate a progressive burn-through of the wing. I suppose it could have been caused by an exploding tire, but other sensors had already died by the time the tire sensors did. Look for explanations elsewhere.

The order of the sensor failures will ultimately tell where the burn-through occured.

An old problem

[toxic666]

First, this is a tragedy for the astronauts and their families. I extend condolances to all who have been affected.

However, this problem is nothing new. The insulation material on the external fuel tanks was changed in 1997 and immediately caused problems. Lockheed-Martin was recently contracted to provide an external camera to monitor insulation loss. I have not found any documentation of the insulation problems from late 1997 until the cameras were installed.

See:
http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.News/NASA.N ews.Rele ases/Previous.News.Releases/97.News.Releases/97-03 .News.Releases/97-03-28.Shuttles.New.ET.Completes. Tests
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/s tsstat/ 1998/sep/9-10-98s.htm
http://ltp.arc.nasa.gov/spa ce/updates/sto32.html
http://www.arnold.af.mil/ae dc/newsreleases/1999/99 -041.htm
http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/news/ releases/2 002/02-234.html

for details about NASA's work on the problem.

Re:An old problem

[kzinti]

You can't just "park" at the ISS like you're checking into a Motel 6. If you're going to rendezvous with the station, that has to be planned way in advance and built into the mission design. Docking at the station is an enormously complex maneuver and it isn't something you do unless that's what the mission plan calls for. Even if you could get to the station, it can't handle a crew of 10 (its 3 plus the Columbia 7).

The Columbia crew didn't even know if there was any damage. There's no way to see that region of the craft; I'm not sure they could see it even if they had a remote manipulator aboard. NASA did an extended analysis of the debris impact, but didn't believe there was any cause for concern. Maybe they were wrong but if not there was nothing the crew could have done. Nothing. There's nowhere else to go. You bring the crew home and hope for the best.

As for NASA's "groupthink", what the fuck do you know about the people who work for NASA, or the way they think? The people that I work with in the shuttle program are some of the best and brightest people I've ever worked with, and that includes both the graybeards and the baby engineers. They bring a variety of viewpoints, experience, opinions, and creativity to bear on every problem NASA encounters. To suggest that these people don't think for themselves is the height of ignorance.

So now you post your solution to the problem even though you clearly don't have a clue about how the shuttle works. Hell of a way to do Slashdot.

--Jim

Re:Human Remains Found ??

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's the AP report on this:

Report: Human Remains Found In Shuttle Debris
Posted: 6:00 p.m. EST February 1, 2003
Updated: 6:15 p.m. EST February 1, 2003

Human remains have reportedly been found in the Texas wreckage of space shuttle Columbia Saturday night.

A hospital employee on his way to work said that he found what seemed to be a charred torso, thigh bone and skull on a rural road in Hemphill, Texas, near the Louisiana line.

Pieces of the spacecraft have been found in several east Texas counties and in Louisiana. NASA is sending out crews to recover the debris for the investigation.

The spacecraft had just re-entered the atmosphere and had reached the point at which it was subjected to the highest temperatures when it disintegrated Saturday morning.

All seven astronauts were killed.