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To: Bilow who wrote (432)	2/7/2003 10:02:24 AM
From: Win Smith	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 603

USAF Imagery Confirms Columbia Wing Damaged aviationnow.com [ A week's not very long, Carl. They had better pictures of the Challenger, I think. Anyway, this seems to be the big story of the day. excerpt: ] High-resolution images taken from a ground-based Air Force tracking camera in the southwestern U.S. show serious structural damage to the inboard leading edge of Columbia's left wing, as the crippled orbiter flew overhead about 60 sec. before the vehicle broke up over Texas killing the seven astronauts on board Feb. 1. According to sources close to the investigation, the images, under analysis at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, show a jagged edge on the left inboard wing structure near where the wing begins to intersect the fuselage. They also show the orbiter's right aft yaw thrusters firing, trying to correct the vehicle's attitude that was being adversely affected by the left wing damage. Columbia's fuselage and right wing appear normal. Unlike the damaged and jagged left wing section, the right wing appears smooth along its entire length. The imagery is consistent with telemetry. The ragged edge on the left leading edge, indicates that either a small structural breach--such as a crack--occurred, allowing the 2,500F reentry heating to erode additional structure there, or that a small portion of the leading edge fell off at that location. Either way, the damage affected the vehicle's flying qualities as well as allowed hot gases to flow into critical wing structure--a fatal combination. It is possible, but yet not confirmed, that the impact of foam debris from the shuttle's external tank during launch could have played a role in damage to the wing leading edge, where the deformity appears in USAF imagery. If that is confirmed by the independent investigation team, it would mean that, contrary to initial shuttle program analysis, the tank debris event at launch played a key role in the root cause of the accident. Another key factor is that the leading edge of the shuttle wing, where the jagged shape was photographed, transitions from black thermal protection tiles to a much different mechanical system made of reinforced carbon-carbon material that is bolted on, rather than glued on as the tiles are. This means that in addition to the possible failure of black tile at the point where the wing joins the fuselage, a failure involving the attachment mechanisms for the leading edge sections could also be a factor, either related or not to the debris impact. The actual front structure of a shuttle wing is flat. To provide aerodynamic shape and heat protection, each wing is fitted with 22 U-shaped reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) leading-edge structures. The carbon material in the leading edge, as well as the orbiter nose cap, is designed to protect the shuttle from temperatures above 2,300F during reentry. Any breach of this leading-edge material would have catastrophic consequences. . . .

To: Bilow who wrote (432)	2/7/2003 10:05:12 AM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 603

Meanwhile, because the Democrats are focused on giving money to pregnant drug using welfare cheats, and the Republicans are focused on building up a big enough military that we don't have to listen to the good advice from our traditional allies, the US has no money available for a space program. So, Carl, who are you voting for in 04? ;-) Apparently, you won't be voting for Kerry, and not for Bush.

To: Bilow who wrote (432)	2/7/2003 5:34:39 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 603

We now have an unsurmountable 14 to 3 advantage over the Russians in space martyrs. If you count deaths on the ground I think they have the unsurmountable advantage. Assuming the book I read years ago was accurate there was a situation where a Soviet rocket's first stage didn't ignite when it was supposed to. Since they where working with a short launch window that was considered important to meet by the government they didn't shut it all down, drain all the fuel ect. Instead they sent people out to the pad to work on the rocket. Awhile later the 2nd stage went off... But then I only have one source for this story and I can't even remember the name of the book. It was a book about Soviet disasters and mishaps. It was an interesting book. Tim