Chasey
11-29-03, 05:59 AM
Well, from a television documentary screened the other night on BBC2 it would appear that NASA really did goof BIG style over the Columbia disaster.
NASA knew that damage to the tiles existed whilst Columbia was in orbit, and did nothing to further examine the extent. Rather than ordering a spacewalk to survey the craft, or scan it with any number of powerful telescopes on earth what did they do?
Answer: Conduct a flawed test with a piece of foam 10 times less than the size of the one that hit the wing by firing it at a bunch of tiles. The tiles survived this test intact, and NASA emailed the concerned engineers to say that re-entry posed no threat to the ship or crew. :confused:
I find it laudable, sad and almost unbelievable that such a pointless, inaccurate test was used in determining the outcome.
Several other viable options were open to NASA if there was any doubt regarding the lives of the crew. Atlantis was in a state of near-readyness for launch and could have been launched as part of a rescue effort. Despite the fact that the Shuttle was fundamentally not designed for such a task, many ex- NASA design employees stated that in there opinion it could have been easily adapted and modified for a rescue. Something as simple as changing the angle of descent to avoid incurring such huge temperatures on the left wing could also have been used.
Even then, NASA had the safe option of sending rockets carrying essential supplies into space right into the orbit path of Columbia to keep the Astronauts supplied for months whilst they figured out the next move. Any rescue operation would surely have been a worldwide PR triumph for NASA, and could have breathed new life into the Shuttle program after years of financial difficulties.
Let's not forget that Challenger was also lost because of human error at NASA. Engineers held an all night meeting the night prior to launch to try to persuade the authorities not to launch via teleconference, because freezing temperatures posed a real risk to certain components. The authorites overruled them.
At the end of the day though, all this means little now.... :(
NASA knew that damage to the tiles existed whilst Columbia was in orbit, and did nothing to further examine the extent. Rather than ordering a spacewalk to survey the craft, or scan it with any number of powerful telescopes on earth what did they do?
Answer: Conduct a flawed test with a piece of foam 10 times less than the size of the one that hit the wing by firing it at a bunch of tiles. The tiles survived this test intact, and NASA emailed the concerned engineers to say that re-entry posed no threat to the ship or crew. :confused:
I find it laudable, sad and almost unbelievable that such a pointless, inaccurate test was used in determining the outcome.
Several other viable options were open to NASA if there was any doubt regarding the lives of the crew. Atlantis was in a state of near-readyness for launch and could have been launched as part of a rescue effort. Despite the fact that the Shuttle was fundamentally not designed for such a task, many ex- NASA design employees stated that in there opinion it could have been easily adapted and modified for a rescue. Something as simple as changing the angle of descent to avoid incurring such huge temperatures on the left wing could also have been used.
Even then, NASA had the safe option of sending rockets carrying essential supplies into space right into the orbit path of Columbia to keep the Astronauts supplied for months whilst they figured out the next move. Any rescue operation would surely have been a worldwide PR triumph for NASA, and could have breathed new life into the Shuttle program after years of financial difficulties.
Let's not forget that Challenger was also lost because of human error at NASA. Engineers held an all night meeting the night prior to launch to try to persuade the authorities not to launch via teleconference, because freezing temperatures posed a real risk to certain components. The authorites overruled them.
At the end of the day though, all this means little now.... :(