Space Shuttle blows up!

[Mr Q]

Originally posted by The Hitman
Wrong. We are protected by several spheres, and one of them is like a shield of immense heat. It wouldn't matter if you passed through it at 1kph or 20,000kph, if you don't have those special tiles surrounding every single centimetre of you, you'll fry. In fact, the shuttle is still vulnerable with the tiles - the shuttle has to re-enter at exactly the right angle, or it'll still burn.

The Hitman

This is the most stunningly inaccurate post I've read since Suzi last mentioned her family tree!

 

[Richmondfan#1]

The space shuttle incident, I think it was the Challenger, happened before I was born and it had a Geography teacher on it. My brothers would have been about 8 and 10 and they came up with this remark "She went up a Geography teacher, and came down a History teacher." I found that one out yesterday.

 

[Richmondfan#1]

Originally posted by Bakes
Maybe you both should let NASA know of your knowledge and then this will never happen again.

I meant I knew what was going on in terms of re-entry.

And has someone deleted a post of mine? I don't care, I'd just like a mention of it.

 

[NICK THE PIE MAN]

Why is this generating so much media coverage?

Abit of an overkill I feel.

Its currently being covered continually on Sky News, Fox News and CNN. And it has been since it happened.

Of course I feel sorry for the astronauts and their families but i just feel it has been very much over published.

I almost threw up when I saw the news piece about the students and teachers getting all teary about how their spiders were lost and it has put them back abit. Come on, abit of perspective please. People lost their lifes, more important than some experiment that might prove something and then will take another 5-10 years to get running.

Why are Sky News following it still? Have we just forgotting about the Sydney railway disaster? More people lost their lives and it is alot closer to home. We are not an American station.

 

[skilts]

NASA are know saying it was all caused by the left wing. Has Frodo been called in as a consultant?

Totally agree about media overkill. 15, yes, 15 pages in the Herald-Sun, including a four page wrap around.

Does anyone think they'd do the same for a plane crash which killed 300 in Uzbekistan, if there were no pics or home video footage?

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by The Hitman
Wrong. We are protected by several spheres, and one of them is like a shield of immense heat. It wouldn't matter if you passed through it at 1kph or 20,000kph, if you don't have those special tiles surrounding every single centimetre of you, you'll fry. In fact, the shuttle is still vulnerable with the tiles - the shuttle has to re-enter at exactly the right angle, or it'll still burn.

Hitters there is no immense shield of heat surrounding the Earth. Radiation (Van Allan Belt) yes, heat no.

The heat that the tiles are there to protect against is generated by the shuttle re-entering the atmosphere at extremely high speed - speed of sound x 18 (or the sound of light as one journo reported it as ). Travelling through even the upper atmosphere at this speed generates heat of the magnitude of 3000 degrees f , 1650 C from friction.

The reason it has to enter at exactly the right angle is that if it comes in too shallow it will bounce off the atmosphere and back into space. To high an angle of attacj and it will burn up, heat shield or no heat shield.

When the shuttle launches into orbit, as Fred stated, it is traveling as far slower velocity, gravity hindering it instead of assisting it and all, and as such the friction generated is far less.

Less friction, less heat.

If you don't believe us, have a look at the Apollo capsules. Huge heat shield on the bottom fotr re-entry. Nothing on top for launch. If there is this immense heat shield why weren't they destroyed?


As for the tiles, once the shuttle was in space there was nothing NASA could have done. The astronauts did not have the capability to EVA around the orbiter to even assess the damage let alone fix it. The impact on launch may have been significant however given the age or the spacecraft it may also be nothing more than a red herring.


The media focus? Space missions are high profile. Train crashes aren't.

 

[Gasometer]

Re: The Media coverage

...come on we are a colony of America. We are the newest state to the USA. We are off to war with them. We idolise their tV shows, movies, wear their clothes,eat their junkfood...we even speak like them 'guys'...I even know people who think they live in a trailer park just to be like Eminem..

The media don't care when disasters happen outside of the Western World...why are you so surprised of the media coverage this time around? It will never change...I bet you that all the tv networks have already designed their graphics for the War in Iraq!

Gaso

 

[M29]

Originally posted by Dave

The heat that the tiles are there to protect against is generated by the shuttle re-entering the atmosphere at extremely high speed - speed of sound x 18

They have to slow from 6600 meters per second due to orbital velocity. Sounds like fun hey!

 

[Lethal]

I'm just waiting for George Dubya to say they are going to attack space now to rid the universe of the evil powers that obviously did this to the shuttle Columbia.

 

[mantis]

Originally posted by NICK THE PIE MAN
Why is this generating so much media coverage?

Abit of an overkill I feel.

Its currently being covered continually on Sky News, Fox News and CNN. And it has been since it happened.

Of course I feel sorry for the astronauts and their families but i just feel it has been very much over published.

I almost threw up when I saw the news piece about the students and teachers getting all teary about how their spiders were lost and it has put them back abit. Come on, abit of perspective please. People lost their lifes, more important than some experiment that might prove something and then will take another 5-10 years to get running.

Why are Sky News following it still? Have we just forgotting about the Sydney railway disaster? More people lost their lives and it is alot closer to home. We are not an American station.

Don't forget the tragic bushfires in Canberra as well, I do feel for the astronauts, but they knew the risks that there was a chance they could die at any given moment, but people killed on trains & in bushfires, are just going about their everyday lives, no less news worthy, IMO.

 

[Ghostwriter]

Originally posted by Richmondfan#1
My brothers would have been about 8 and 10 and they came up with this remark "She went up a Geography teacher, and came down a History teacher."

That is a beauty v funny indeed.

 

[Sherlock]

Originally posted by The Hitman
Wrong. We are protected by several spheres, and one of them is like a shield of immense heat. It wouldn't matter if you passed through it at 1kph or 20,000kph, if you don't have those special tiles surrounding every single centimetre of you, you'll fry. In fact, the shuttle is still vulnerable with the tiles - the shuttle has to re-enter at exactly the right angle, or it'll still burn.

The Hitman

Hahahahahahhahahahahaha. This is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard.

Since when did you do Physics?

 

[Frodo]

Originally posted by Richmondfan#1

And has someone deleted a post of mine? I don't care, I'd just like a mention of it.

Gee, you had a post deleted. I can't imagine you posting something offensive. What was it?

 

[Richmondfan#1]

Originally posted by Frodo
Gee, you had a post deleted. I can't imagine you posting something offensive. What was it?

Oi you, get on MSN and it might be re-told.

 

[The Hitman]

Originally posted by Dave
Hitters there is no immense shield of heat surrounding the Earth. Radiation (Van Allan Belt) yes, heat no.

The heat that the tiles are there to protect against is generated by the shuttle re-entering the atmosphere at extremely high speed - speed of sound x 18 (or the sound of light as one journo reported it as ). Travelling through even the upper atmosphere at this speed generates heat of the magnitude of 3000 degrees f , 1650 C from friction.

The reason it has to enter at exactly the right angle is that if it comes in too shallow it will bounce off the atmosphere and back into space. To high an angle of attacj and it will burn up, heat shield or no heat shield.

When the shuttle launches into orbit, as Fred stated, it is traveling as far slower velocity, gravity hindering it instead of assisting it and all, and as such the friction generated is far less.

Less friction, less heat.

If you don't believe us, have a look at the Apollo capsules. Huge heat shield on the bottom fotr re-entry. Nothing on top for launch. If there is this immense heat shield why weren't they destroyed?

As for the tiles, once the shuttle was in space there was nothing NASA could have done. The astronauts did not have the capability to EVA around the orbiter to even assess the damage let alone fix it. The impact on launch may have been significant however given the age or the spacecraft it may also be nothing more than a red herring.

The only post I'll reply to. Thanks Dave for explaining it properly, without acting like a ****. I stand corrected.

The Hitman

 

[The Hitman]

You can't say tw*t? Jesus, talk about censorship!

The Hitman

 

[Fred]

Originally posted by The Hitman
The only post I'll reply to. Thanks Dave for explaining it properly, without acting like a ****. I stand corrected.

The Hitman

And my first reply to you didn't explain it properly? You chose to tell me I was wrong.

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by The Hitman
]The only post I'll reply to. Thanks Dave for explaining it properly, without acting like a ****. I stand corrected.

S'okay, though I have to say I fail to see how Fred acted like a tw@t.

"The shuttle doesn't "pass through the immense heat of the atmosphere" It generates heat BY passing through the atmosphere at high speed.

Take off speeds are lower hence less heat."

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

 

[Pessimistic]

I wonder if there could be a way to have a satelite(s) with a camera up there and the shuttle could go into orbit with it and the tiles could be inspected

Come to think of it the astronauts could do a spacewalk and inspect the hull. I'm sure they have thought of that.

If there was a risk re-entering they could take refuge on the space station.

 

[Still Crowing]

Originally posted by Pessimistic
I wonder if there could be a way to have a satelite(s) with a camera up there and the shuttle could go into orbit with it and the tiles could be inspected

Come to think of it the astronauts could do a spacewalk and inspect the hull. I'm sure they have thought of that.

If there was a risk re-entering they could take refuge on the space station.

As Dave said earlier, as this was a scientific mission, none of the Astronauts was qualified to EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity; aka: Space Walk). Even if NASA had wanted to check the tiles/left wing, no one was able to go and do it. Also, I assume that there would not be enough room on the Space Station for 10 Astonauts for a month. The next Shuttle was due to launch March 1.

This explains it:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/03/1044122321500.html

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Pessimistic
I wonder if there could be a way to have a satelite(s) with a camera up there and the shuttle could go into orbit with it and the tiles could be inspected

Possibly. Then what? There are no repair facilities in space. It's not like changing a flat tire.

c ome to think of it the astronauts could do a spacewalk and inspect the hull. I'm sure they have thought of that.

They have, and according to NASA it could not be done. I'm not 100% on whether the spokesman meant it couldn't have been done only on this occasion or on any occasion, but he was definite about there be no way to do it on this mission.

If there was a risk re-entering they could take refuge on the space station.

They did not have the fuel to boost into the higher orbit required to dock with the ISS. Perhaps on future missions they will ensure that there is, however woth currently no way of checjing how would they know it was necessary?

 

[knuckles]

None of the crew were "space walk" certified. If so, and there was damage, they would use all their remaining fuel to get to the ISS, dock and then ditch the shuttle. They wouldn't repair it.

 

[stemline]

Find it hard to believe they can't somehow build a system that runs a check that all tiles are in place.

If my office laser printer can run a self test, then I'm sure NASA should be able to manage it.

 

[Lethal]

Originally posted by stemline
Find it hard to believe they can't somehow build a system that runs a check that all tiles are in place.

If my office laser printer can run a self test, then I'm sure NASA should be able to manage it.

I'm sure a printer self test is a bit more basic than trying to create something to scan over thousands of tiles. Plus it would probably add another few million or more to the cost of each shuttle.

 

[stemline]

Originally posted by Lethal
I'm sure a printer self test is a bit more basic than trying to create something to scan over thousands of tiles. Plus it would probably add another few million or more to the cost of each shuttle.

Worth every cent they'd be thinking right now. Have you seen their budget? Like Dave Hosking says of NASA:
UFO = Unlimited Funds, with lots of 0's.

They can put people in space and most of the time bring them back. I'm sure they can manage to create something to scan the tiles.