I can't imagine

[Bodhi]

Ron Dittemore, NASA Shuttle Program Manager was on C-Span earlier during the 3:30 News Conference NASA hosted and was asked some "good" questions and then your typical host of reporter like idiocy.  One question was whether he had decided what he would like to see NASA gain from this tagedy, as the Challenger accident was a boon for the finacial woes of NASA.  Up until this point his composure had been great considering, the concern for the families of the astronauts was very evident, but it was his response that really sticks in my mind.  He sat there and basically said, "I have no thoughts on the future to come from this tagedy, rather, my thoughts are with the families of the astronauts.  How we can help them, and what it is I missed that allowed this tragedy to happen."  He understandbly choked up when he said "what I missed" and I felt so bad for this guy.  Unfortunately he bears the brunt of blame, but it seems that the reins of our shuttle program are in good hands, as I can think of no one better than Ron Dittemore at the helm.

Godspeed crew of Columbia  

[TWOLF]

Here here!

[davidpt40]

Well someone made a mistake and 7 extremely intelligent, highly educated individuals burned to death.

[Maverick]

Originally posted by davidpt40
Well someone made a mistake and 7 extremely intelligent, highly educated individuals burned to death.

That has not been determined. There has been no finding about what caused the loss of the shuttle. There IS such a thing as an inflight structural failure with no one being at fault. This is still a new frontier and the technology is in its infancy.

Try having a little compassion. I can imagine the horror and the self questioning EVERY member of the space program that works with and on the shuttle is going through right now.

The main thing to concentrate on is not who to fediddleing blame but how can it be prevented from happening again. Those who choose to become a part of the space program know there are risks inherant in the job. Not every problem or disaster was the result of a mistake.

[davidpt40]

There IS such a thing as an inflight structural failure with no one being at fault.

If the pilot overstressed the aircraft, then it would be his fault.  If the airframe had components which were old and weakened, then it would have been the project managers responsibility to replace those.  The last two U.S. spacecraft disasters were caused by human error, so maybe if we start putting the blame on someone it could be prevented.

[Maverick]

You can assess blame all you want but there is no such thing as a PERFECT vehicle. Any vehicle. There are failures that are totally unpredictable and undetectable prior to the part or structure giving way. This bird is about 20 years old. There are very few of them and the technology is still very immature. This is not a tv show like star trek for crying out loud.

If you are such an expert I'm sure NASA would be happy to get your input and let you tie the noose.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by davidpt40
Well someone made a mistake and 7 extremely intelligent, highly educated individuals burned to death.

Not to make light of the sacrifices, but if we're not willing to lose a few people along the way, we have no business in space at all.

Take the information that these people sacrificed their lives for and apply it to future missions. Keep moving... honor the dead, preserve the living, but keep moving.

[Saurdaukar]

Just like servicemen, I can only assume that astronauts are well aware of the risks of their chosen profession.

Think of it this way - at least they died doing what they always wanted to - how many of us will be able to say that?

to them.

[Bodhi]

Originally posted by davidpt40
Well someone made a mistake and 7 extremely intelligent, highly educated individuals burned to death.

Originally posted by davidpt40
If the pilot overstressed the aircraft, then it would be his fault. If the airframe had components which were old and weakened, then it would have been the project managers responsibility to replace those. The last two U.S. spacecraft disasters were caused by human error, so maybe if we start putting the blame on someone it could be prevented.

David, this thread was not put up for you to start your own personal bashing war against NASA's top personnel, so get a grip.  The most likely cause to date is from the impact on the leading edge that was probably ice that damaged the leading edge tiles leading to failure on the return.  Is that over stress, I think not, it is a 1 in a billion shot that happened unfortunately.  

So do not highjack this thread, instead choose to honor those that are lost, and support those that remain at the helm of NASA.  They need our support, how many other major technologically leading companies continue to produce the results they do, with the budget cuts they receive.

[mrsid2]

Nobody seems to consider the chance that a small asteroid or space junk could have damaged the vehicle while in space or high atmosphere..

Those things are like extremely fast bullets out there.

[CyranoAH]

mrsid, AFAIK last communication reported lost of data from thermal and hydraulic sensors in the left wing, but the astronauts hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

A piece of debris flying at high speed that could damage the shuttle would have definitely been heard by the crew. As a matter of fact, there have been reports of such incidents, such as when a piece of protective wax from a satellite impacted the window of a space shuttle (can't remember which one) and nearly broke it.

I'm guessing thermal shield failure in left wing that weakened the structure, breaking up in the deceleration maneouvers (which tend to stress the structure a lot).

I'm trying to contact an acquaintance of mine, Pedro Duque, who is an astronaut that flew with Columbia, to see if he knows something. I'll keep you posted.

Daniel

[Replicant]

Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
Not to make light of the sacrifices, but if we're not willing to lose a few people along the way, we have no business in space at all.

Take the information that these people sacrificed their lives for and apply it to future missions. Keep moving... honor the dead, preserve the living, but keep moving.

I totally agree with you Sandman.  Unfortunately people die every day, whether they're heros, genius', or just common folk.  To advance with science, technology, to break new bounderies you have to take risks.  With risks come the consequence of something going wrong.  I think that everyone takes space missions for granted and forget the benefits of their experiments but as soon as something goes wrong it propels it back into the limelight.  No one really expects to die, but I'm sure they all knew the risk, whether it be there fault or someone elses.  You all take risks.... everytime you step out of your home, drive your car, it's not just what you do but what someone else might do.  It's just a great shame that Columbia wasn't equipped with space walk equipment and perhaps then they might have been told to inspect any damage to their craft.

Salute all those that fall, they will all rise again!