Sci.Space Members Affecting STS-107 Mission

OK, I'll start...

- actions that *were* taken by members of this forum,

I learned of the STS-107 foam impact halfway into the mission. I
contacted specialists within USA, Boeing and Lockheed Martin. I was
shocked to learn that JSC was not proactively working to deal with the
worst case scenario of critical thermal protection damage.

- actions that *could have been* done.

Prior to -107s entry, there are many others I could have contacted,
both inside and outside of the program. My gut feel was that the foam
impact analysis was insufficient. I chose not to press the issue
further. Part of my reason was out of trust for those who made such
decisions (I understand Leroy Cain to be an exceptionally wise
leader). Another part was out of my feeling that I was lacking in any
obligation to interfere with those decisions (this is the part that
troubles me most).


In the aftermath of the destruction, we've all seen how sci.space has
served as an excellent brainstorming forum on what could have been
done. Had there been an open discussion of the problem while Columbia
was still on orbit, solutions generated within this forum could
possibly have had a significant affect in helping -107. I had
attained the ascent video of the foam strike through a private
channel. I chose to constrain my response to private interactions
(mentioned above). I'm sure that there are others here who have been
wrestling with their own personal accountability regarding this
tragedy. However peripheral our role may have been, there are always
options of contacting NASA, Congress, the press and others.

There were a multitude of failures that formed links in the causal
chain leading to this horrific loss of orbiter and crew. I count my
decision to not do more as an opportunity lost. And I see the
composite decision of everyone who had knowledge of the critical
threats facing the vehicle and its crew members... the composite
decision of authorities within the program, as well as observers
outside of the program, to be responsible for the tragic outcome.

Surely there are few outside of the program who can be held
accountable, but we all had an ability-to-respond to the situation,
and this equates to our responsibility.

Our failure.


~ CT

"Stuf4" wrote in message
om...

crap snipped

Our failure.


~ CT


Speak for yourself. I was actually doing something, and no, you don't get
to hear about it or about what happened. Important things happen in the
real world. For everything else, there's Usenet.


Dosco

"Dosco Jones" wrote in message ink.net...

"Stuf4" wrote in message
om...

crap snipped

Our failure.


~ CT


Speak for yourself. I was actually doing something, and no, you don't get
to hear about it or about what happened. Important things happen in the
real world. For everything else, there's Usenet.


Dosco


Like taking a ride in your new 350Z in California Mr. Two Balls? (Dos Cojones)
Welcome back Stuf.

From Paul Maxson:
"Dosco Jones" wrote ...

snip
Speak for yourself. I was actually doing something, and no, you don't get
to hear about it or about what happened. Important things happen in the
real world. For everything else, there's Usenet.

Like taking a ride in your new 350Z in California Mr. Two Balls? (Dos Cojones)
Welcome back Stuf.

I'm glad to be posting here again. I agree with DoscoJones' point
that important things happen in the real world (the people I contacted
had specialties in Shuttle Entry, Orbital Debris Impact and Crew
Training).

Not sure about the reason for DoscoJones being closed off. I am well
aware that there are many who read this forum who work at NASA. For
all he knows, I myself was at meetings with Leroy Cain, Wayne Hale,
Linda Ham, Ralph Roe and Ron Dittemore and that I had sat in the
trench craning my neck up to the big screens with Steve Stich, Digger
Carey, etc behind me.

Regardless of anything that happened within the walls of NASA, I am
not as quick to brush off the value of Usenet. Cyberspace happens to
be an integral part of the "real world". Over the last month alone,
there is a case where a large corporation responded to complaints
raised within a web forum - a cyber community. This corporation was
well aware that the reputation of their product was dependent upon the
information being shared within this niche community.

The most amazing part is the speed in which this corporation responded
(~2wks).

Prior to -107's fatal entry, I am certain that some combination of
Usenet, print media and network television would have had an impact on
NASA's decision making.


Now I can understand why people with technical knowledge and
experience who work within media circles plugged in to major networks
would be reluctant to go public with the story of the "STS-107 launch
anomoly". It's very possible that such action would have increased
the trauma by orders of magnitude with no positive effect on the end
result. That's the flipside of my original point. But no public
outcry occurred, so we will never know if it would have helped Rick
and his crew.

The best time to call a time out was *before* the mission. The
warning signs were there. Here's a link to a photo from February at
KSC showing Wayne Hale, Linda Ham, Ron Dittemore and Ralph Roe staring
at wreckage from Columbia:

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/st...lemanagers.jpg

Their facial expressions say it all.


~ CT