Re:I thought this was well known?
by
rjh
·
· Score: 4, Informative
While it's true that there have been several foam impacts before, NASA never (to the best of my knowledge) said wings had been breached before. Breaches are amazingly lethal conditions, and NASA takes them very seriously; when any tile gets deteriorated by more than 0.04 inches, it gets completely replaced.
NASA's line about why they didn't throw a fit over the foam has always been "well, it never caused any problems before..."
Now it turns out it did cause problems before and came within a whisker of losing Atlantis. In a fair world, it would mean the jobs of several NASA bureaucrats--not just for not paying attention to foam-strike problems, but for lying to Lehman's committee, to Congress, and to the American people about how there had never before been any foam-strike problems.
From this AP story you can read that one of the astronauts on board the Atlantis when it had the wing-breach found out about the wing-breach when she was contacted by the AP for a comment. Not only had NASA covered up the wing-breach--they weren't even informing astronauts of the risks.
Dodged a bullet, but by accident
by
jwriney
·
· Score: 4, Informative
The AP article mentions that ice impacted Atlantis' *right* wing. This motivated ground teams to perform the cold soaking procedure. But the actual damage was on the *left* wing, and was caused by improper installation of some sort of seal thingy. So Atlantis may have been saved by the cold soak, but the truly dangerous condition that could have cost them the orbiter and crew wasn't the one they prescribed the cold soak for!
Disturbing.
--riney
Re:I thought this was well known?
by
teridon
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Now it turns out it did cause problems before and came within a whisker of losing Atlantis.
No, it did not cause problems before. Here are the relevant parts of the article: During liftoff, a 6-inch chunk of ice had smashed against the back edge of the right wing; so experts deemed it prudent to adjust Atlantis' flight to rapidly cool its wings...NASA blamed the Atlantis damage on improper installation of a seal between two protective panels on the shuttle's left wing[emphasis mine]
So ice had struck the right wing; the cooling maneuver was done to protect it. The defect (and subsequent breach) in the left wing wasn't known until after the landing.
Nowhere in the article does it say that foam caused damage to Atlantis. Even the ice strike was not the cause of the breach.
-- I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing. -- Thomas Jefferson
Re:Older, more effective foam was replaced
by
Matrix272
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I understand the arguments of both sides. I don't believe there is any global warming.
Slashdot Mirror
While it's true that there have been several foam impacts before, NASA never (to the best of my knowledge) said wings had been breached before. Breaches are amazingly lethal conditions, and NASA takes them very seriously; when any tile gets deteriorated by more than 0.04 inches, it gets completely replaced.
NASA's line about why they didn't throw a fit over the foam has always been "well, it never caused any problems before..."
Now it turns out it did cause problems before and came within a whisker of losing Atlantis. In a fair world, it would mean the jobs of several NASA bureaucrats--not just for not paying attention to foam-strike problems, but for lying to Lehman's committee, to Congress, and to the American people about how there had never before been any foam-strike problems.
From this AP story you can read that one of the astronauts on board the Atlantis when it had the wing-breach found out about the wing-breach when she was contacted by the AP for a comment. Not only had NASA covered up the wing-breach--they weren't even informing astronauts of the risks.
The AP article mentions that ice impacted Atlantis' *right* wing. This motivated ground teams to perform the cold soaking procedure. But the actual damage was on the *left* wing, and was caused by improper installation of some sort of seal thingy. So Atlantis may have been saved by the cold soak, but the truly dangerous condition that could have cost them the orbiter and crew wasn't the one they prescribed the cold soak for!
Disturbing.
--riney
No, it did not cause problems before. Here are the relevant parts of the article: ...NASA blamed the Atlantis damage on improper installation of a seal between two protective panels on the shuttle's left wing[emphasis mine]
During liftoff, a 6-inch chunk of ice had smashed against the back edge of the right wing; so experts deemed it prudent to adjust Atlantis' flight to rapidly cool its wings
So ice had struck the right wing; the cooling maneuver was done to protect it. The defect (and subsequent breach) in the left wing wasn't known until after the landing.
Nowhere in the article does it say that foam caused damage to Atlantis. Even the ice strike was not the cause of the breach.
I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing. -- Thomas Jefferson
I understand the arguments of both sides. I don't believe there is any global warming.
Global Warming or Hot Air?
The Leipzig Declaratioin
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Acts
Global Warming? Nevermind!
Cooling Off on Global Warming
Why the Kyoto Greenhouse Gases Accord is Full of Hot Air
Global Warming Hype Heats Up
Global Warming and the Media Elite
The Heat is Online
Numerous Articles on Global Warming
Read those articles, and do your own research. Don't trust me... look into it yourself, and you'll see the truth.
"It's better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it." ~ Christian Slater, True Romance