http://www.gotthegeek.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=11" TARGET="BLANK">Binoboy writes the following essay regarding the Space Shuttle Columbia:Today, Saturday February 1, at 9:01 EST, NASA lost contact with STS-107, the space shuttle Columbia, over Texas during atmospheric re-entry to its scheduled landing at 9:17. The shuttle was launched on January 16 to fulfill a 16-day microgravity science research mission, and NASA officials say that at the time of the communication failure, the shuttle was approximately 200,300 feet above sea level and going about 12,500 mph (Mach 18). At 9:29 am, NASA sent out search and rescue squads to find the shuttle, whose landing status at the time was questionable. At 10:26 the first signs of fallen debris, possibly from the Columbia, were found by civilians on the ground. Ultimately at 11:18 am EST, the shuttle broke up in the skies over Nacogdoches County, Texas, the sight being described by eyewitnesses as a "big bang" and a "ball of fire"; hazardous debris showered heavily on the area with much of it landing in the towns of Nacogdoches and Palestine (though debris has also been found all the way from southern California to Shreveport, LA), and people were warned to not go anyhwere near pieces of the shuttle. With all factors involved, the seven crew members aboard, including the first Israeli astronaut to be in space, were given no chance of survival.
Now the irony that seems to seep from every pore of this story hasn't escaped me: a shuttle including a seven member crew which included two women and one black male explodes 17 years after the Challenger incident, even to within a few days of the anniversary. The most logical conclusion as to why the shuttle broke up has been linked to a problem that could have stemmed from problems during the launch, which engineers had first dismissed as a minor problem that wouldn't affect the mission. In another vein, the first Israeli astronaut, son of a Holocaust survivor who brought aboard a picture drawn by a boy who died in a concentration camp, dies in the explosion of a space shuttle named "Columbia" (the poetic name for America) over a city called Palestine in George W. Bush's home state. After all, Israel seems to be rapidly becoming as hated by the Muslim world as America (like this is a new thing?). Still, you wouldn't expect any American to have the cojones to even THINK of linking this terrible tragedy to a terrorist act. Well OK.... any levelheaded person knew from the get-go some mindless hicks would blame this on "t3h o5aMa!!11!!1"; congrats to you because you were dead-on. Most of the debris hadn't even touched-down on the Texas landscape before a complete idiot called in to CNN to say he "saw a plane near the shuttle", to which the jackass anchor gladly egged this attention-seeking yokel on. This same anchor's face when NASA and Homeland Security officials vehemently denied any possibility of terrorism being an issue was priceless. Geez, if these terrorists were to have shoulder-fired SAMs capable of catching up with an object at Mach 18 at 200,000 feet, I say we all just learn Arabic now.
This is certainly the kind of news none of us would ever wish to wake up to. Tracking videos show a piece of foam insulation from the shuttle's external tank falling during the launch and striking the left shuttle wing near the landing edge; during a mission status news conference yesterday, Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain was asked about any possible damage to the shuttle's thermal tiles during launch. The tiles are what protect the shuttle during the fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere. But Cain said engineers "took a very thorough look at the situation with the tile on the left wing and we have no concerns whatsoever. We haven't changed anything with respect to our trajectory design. It will be a nominal, standard trajectory." "During liftoff, damage was caused to the outer skin, wing and ceramic heat tiles," says another article. Engineers felt that the crew was still within specs for the descent. It's also reported that the last communication between NASA and the shuttle was about problem with tire pressure on the landing gear. CNN says that the affectionate nickname of the Columbia was "the old gray lady", possibly indicative of its age and/or 70's technology (though the shuttle DID have an overhaul within the last few years). Yikes... Hindsight certainly is 20/20 isn't it?
It'd seem NORAD, Space Command, and the Strategic Air Command are all now involved in the investigation. What they're looking for is anybody's guess, but I guess discounting al-Qaeda involvement for the 19th time will make some of us feel a little better, as if the tragedy is somehow less horrific that way. I think it may have been just a horrible accident caused partially by the age of the craft; maybe if NASA hadn't had its budget consistently cut and its technology kept from advancing, they would already be using next-gen shuttles but we have more important things to worry about ('cept THEY aren't getting proper funding either!). Earlier on the CNN site was an article with the headline "Columbia landing status in question", while right underneath was "NASA officials express grief to families of Challenger victims." Now that's creepy though not as creepy as the firestorm of political spin that this tragedy WILL be used for. Let me quote a Farker by saying "I bet Pravda will use this as definitive proof that Saddam has a UFO." Inconceivable? Conceive harder.
Godspeed Challenger.
Godspeed Columbia.
The prayers of people around the world are with their crews' families.
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