Shuttle Test Yields 'Smoking Gun' Shuttle Test Yields 'Smoking Gun'

[dArKeR]

A chunk of foam insulation fired at shuttle wing parts Monday blew open a gaping 16-inch hole, yielding what one member of the Columbia investigation team said was the "smoking gun" that proves what brought down the spaceship.

The crowd of about 100 watching the test gasped and cried, "Wow!" when the foam hit — the impact so violent that it popped a lens off one of the cameras recording the event.

The foam struck roughly the same spot where insulation that broke off Columbia's big external fuel tank during launch smashed into the shuttle's wing.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/09/columbia/main553121.shtml

Sorry, I just don't believe 'the Republicans' already didn't know this. Just from my little Physics in college I know they can figure all this stuff out theoretically, (equations- mass, acceleration, velocity, material strength, temperature...). I think it's a cover-up for NOT attempting to rescue the crew, try to repair the damage with a spacewalk, let the crew talk to their families one last time...

Repukelican patriotism means telling lies and pretending you don't know the truth. Anyone who seeks the truth is unpatriotic. American media whores are NSA agents or Mafia agents. When will we have a Democrat with a spine to lead out nation to morality?
http://www.geocities.com/darkerxdarker

[MoonAndSun]

1. This whole story of the shuttle just breaks my heart.

I hope the people that made the decision to bring them in without trying all options are held to account. But we know that will not happen. How terribly sad.

[Noordam]

2. You must be joking NOBODY will have to pay nt

[DS1]

3. 'the Republicans'

If NASA did propose a rescue mission, and they were turned down, don't you think they would have volunteered that information by now?

Come on, not ~everything~ is 'the Republicans' fault. Most of it is, but this sort of finger pointing is dumb.

[BadGimp]

4. yes but

There are many unanswered questions about what the admin was told and when.

NASA saw the video of the insulation within 24 hours of liftoff. That started a process that would have (by law) lead to the White House being notified that NASA was looking into something that might be a problem for the Shuttle.

National Security Matter: NASA is required by law to notify the military and the White House in the event of a possible object or craft entering the atmosphere and falling to earth, especially if they think or know it will come down over US territory. NASA knew they had a potentially sick bird up there. They were bound by law to alert the proper channels.

I’m confident NASA did what they were supposed to do, but I am not sure the administration did the right thing.

My questions are:
- What did the White House do with the information?
- What information did they get and when?
- Who received it?
- What was done with it?
- Were there decisions made regarding public release of the information? Who made those decisions, and what were they?

I am struck the severe absence of critical questions along these lines. How coincidental that they find out after all that it was the foam tiles impacting the wings during take off that fatally damaged the shuttle.

Maybe no one cares but me, but I want to know if the administration, upon being notified by NASA about the possibility of a problem with the shuttle, kept the information from the public. If so I think we deserve to know that.

[indepat]

12. You mean what did someone know and when did someone

know and what did someone do about it?

[rocketdem]

5. not a conspiracy

It was not a conspiracy. It was an accident. Nobody wanted this to happen. Nobody. Nobody did anything knowingly negligent. Nobody. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.

[BadGimp]

6. I did not suggest a conspiracy

I discussed what took place after NASA started looking at the possible effects the foam might have had on the shuttle.

[rocketdem]

7. cover-up, not

The original poster used the term "cover-up."

Nothing was covered up. The situation was evaluated and judged to be benign. Obviously that judgment was mistaken but it was not a malicious act. Futher, the full report from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) will be forthcoming, probably later this month. Nothing will be covered up.

What did NASA know? That foam hit the wing. That was not the first time that it had happened. Based upon the analysis at the time and based upon experience, Columbia was believed to be safe. End of story.

[BadGimp]

9. NOT End of Story

You completely avoided my questions rocketdem. Maybe my line of questioning is of no consequence to you. That's fine.

But until we learn what the White House knew and when there is no end to the story.

This was a tragic accident. There was no conspiracy involved in the accident. But I sense that there was a cover up of the possibility of a disaster. Information was withheld. To just accept that NASA had no idea that the shuttle was in trouble is farther than I am willing to go until my questions are answered.

[rocketdem]

10. believe what you want

I am not privy to conversations between Sean O'Keefe and the White House, but I'm pretty sure that something deemed to be a non-issue at the program level would not be floated up to that level of discussion.

If you believe that the shuttle launches every time flawlessly, then you are mistaken. There are almost always issues with regards to something. Space flight is a difficult undertaking even forty-some years after John Glenn was strapped to an ICBM.

Yes, Ron Dittemore, head of the shuttle program, said that he knew of the issue of the foam. He trusted his analysts who told him that it was benign. You can blame him if you like or you can blame the analysts or you can blame Lockheed Martin who builds the External Tank or you can blame Boeing (formerly Rockwell) who built the orbiter. There's plenty of blame to go around if you want to play that game.

I personally have no doubt that W. and company knew nothing and had nothing to do with any decisions. Why do I feel this way? Because W. never once while governor of Texas even bothered to visit the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Quite frankly, I don't think that W. gives a shit about the shuttle or about NASA in general.

[MoonAndSun]

11. I agree with you, Badgimp.

The info about the foam hitting the shuttle has to have gone to the highest levels in the WH. It is only fair to ask what they were told, and what decisions were made from the info they were given.

We lost human beings in that horrible accident, and it needs to be investigated thoroughly, no stone unturned.

[renegade000]

8. nasa is definitely underfunded

and the huge deficit is not going to help.

its sad that the exploration of space and the peaceful advancement of humanity is being hurt because of tax cuts for the rich.

the death of the space program will signal the death of the soul of the nation in my opinion (if any of you still think its there heh).