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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
Remember the question why NASA did not release their results on the in orbit repair options for Columbia? It seems the results were too unwanted obvious: http://www.stpns.net/view_article.ht...43251064362304 Astronaut Talks Of Shuttle Disasters, Life In Space By John Larson for Mountain Mail, November 09, 2006 Both space shuttle disasters, Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, could have been survivable, said former NASA astronaut and aeronautical engineer Sid Gutierrez of Albuquerque. .... As an Air Force instructor, fighter, and test pilot, he flew over 30 different types of airplanes, sailplanes, balloons and rockets. He logged more than 4,500 hours of flying time. Gutierrez is a native New Mexican born in Albuquerque, and currently a department manager at Sandia National Laboratories. .... Gutierrez said the fault lies in two words: "engineering arrogance". ôNASA engineers were confident that they did everything right,ö Gutierrez said. ôThey were so sure everything would work as planned they didnÆt think an escape system was necessary. The fact is, if there had been an escape system on Columbia and Challenger, the crews could have survived.ö .... As a NASA astronaut Gutierrez was pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-40 in June, 1991, and commander of Endeavor on STS-59 in April, 1994. In February 2003 Columbia disintegrated above Texas while re-entering the earthÆs atmosphere. ôIf the engineers at NASA had looked closer at the video that showed the foam hitting the orbiterÆs wing, the crew could have done something about the hole in the leading edge of the wing once they were in orbit,ö he said. He said something as simple as wet towels forming a several-inches-thick layer of ice would have been enough to keep hot gasses from burning into the crack in the leading edge. ôThere was no escape system in place on the Columbia, either,ö Gutierrez said. ôThe breakup started at about 200,000 feet. With oxygen masks, the crew wouldÆve at least had some chance at surviving if theyÆd had a parachute system.ö He said the shuttle is the most dangerous space vehicle ever flown. ## CrossPoint v3.12d R ## |
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
"Jorge R. Frank" wrote Gutierrez is wrong. And it turns out, so were NASA's results from the CAIB report. The three years of work that have gone into RCC repair capability since that report have made clear that the in-flight repair options for Columbia would not have worked. It's not even clear whether the proposals would have delayed breakup a few minutes, or hastened it due to higher drag. I'd like to believe that an attempted repair would have given the ship another minute or two to get lower and slower, and perhaps cross the boundary where suited crewmembers thrown free by the cabin break-up might, might, just might have survived to low enough that their parachutes would have saved them. But at any altitude, co-existing even briefly with a debris cloud of jagged metal is problematical. It's what I was saying the first hour of the live coverage with ABC, when I talked on-air from my home: the odds of survival were low but not zero and in the initial hours post-breakup all efforts must focus and looking for parachutes on the ground because anybody getting out of the ship alive would need help really bad. Had there been warning, you also bet that there wouldn't have been anybody in the ship doing entry without helmets and gloves -- an appalling failure of safety practices, in real life, but sadly consistent with safety standards that had crept up on some (not all, or even most) of the team. |
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
Jim Oberg wrote: I'd like to believe that an attempted repair would have given the ship another minute or two to get lower and slower, and perhaps cross the boundary where suited crewmembers thrown free by the cabin break-up might, might, just might have survived to low enough that their parachutes would have saved them. But at any altitude, co-existing even briefly with a debris cloud of jagged metal is problematical. Don't forget some of the other stuff that would have been in the area; the footage of the break-up made it look like the OMS pods and nose RCS exploded as it got lower, so you might have been jumping into a cloud of hydrazine and UDMH, which wouldn't have helped your pressure suit or parachute any. Had there been warning, you also bet that there wouldn't have been anybody in the ship doing entry without helmets and gloves -- an appalling failure of safety practices, in real life, but sadly consistent with safety standards that had crept up on some (not all, or even most) of the team. Yeah, that was a real sloppy thing to do. They were getting very lax about things, and Story Musgrave's standing reentry really set a bad example in that regard. Pat |
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
"Brian Gaff" wrote in message . uk... Yes, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? the sad part is how the people who were worried AT THAT TIME were bullied before the disaster, and side-lined afterwards out of embarrassment. |
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
Pat Flannery wrote:
you might have been jumping into a cloud of hydrazine and UDMH, which wouldn't have helped your pressure suit or parachute any. Doubtful -- at almost any speed, any "cloud" is going to be left behind very quickly indeed by denser chunks, including surviving astronauts. Monte Davis http://montedavis.livejournal.com |
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
Certinally a launch boost escape system is still needed........
Hey lets fly and take our chances, its worked fine so far That attitude got us challenger and columbia and sadly probaby will again, but THAT will be the last flight! |
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
"Jim Oberg" wrote in message ... "Brian Gaff" wrote in message . uk... Yes, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? the sad part is how the people who were worried AT THAT TIME were bullied before the disaster, and side-lined afterwards out of embarrassment. Bullied is the right word. That is what I have been saying. NASA culture is a bully culture. Danny Dot |
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NASA Astronaut on Columbia Repair (and others)
"Danny Dot" wrote in message
... "Jim Oberg" wrote in message ... "Brian Gaff" wrote in message . uk... Yes, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? the sad part is how the people who were worried AT THAT TIME were bullied before the disaster, and side-lined afterwards out of embarrassment. Bullied is the right word. That is what I have been saying. NASA culture is a bully culture. In that case it shares it with every other large organisation. People just protecting their jobs. |
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