The Space Shuttle Columbia......

[halfracedrift]

I'm thinking that, assuming the space shuttle exploded(because people were talking about hearing a loud *Boom!* and their houses shaking), that it was due to the fact that the space shuttle was 23 years old. Dude, not one of our Armed forces branches uses any vehicle over 10 years old, so why would we risk using a shuttle that's 23 years old for science?

dude, you know how much it takes to make one of those shuttles right?
compare it to a military vehicle

think about it
i'm guessing a shuttle costs AT LEAST a billion bucks
whereas a military vehicle.. hmm.. hummers - 200,000?
fighters - 5, 6 mill?
edit: Found out, Shuttles for, yeah, a FEW billion bucks
fighters are like...... 10-30 mill

 

[F094/H]

And there is only about 4 space shuttles in the world!

 

[Solid Fro]

One Boeing / Lockheed Martin Space Shuttle costs $1.2 Billion dollars.

One space shuttle is built to last 100 missions. Columbia was on 28 missions. The age has nothing to do with it.

There are only 3 active space shuttles known publicly, out of 7 original, in the world. All 3 remaining are owned by NASA:

Discovery
Endeavor
Atlantis

Challenger and Columbia were destroyed. Enterprise was the prototype. The seventh shuttle, Buran, was owned by the Soviet Union and it never flew into space.

Edit: spelling.

 

[-Fred-]

It's Columbia, btw, nothing to do with Colombia, the country.

It's the loss of another Canadian arm, too. One of the most useful devices in the shuttle.

 

[freerider]

I just hope the cause of the explosion isn't another $0.50 rubber "O" ring.

 

[Solid Fro]

I don't think they had the arm installed on this flight. They had the Space Lab module installed to do experiments.

 

[-Fred-]

I thought it was standard in every shuttle?

Maybe they're not using it anymore, too. I haven't been up to date with the NASA program...

 

[Solid Fro]

The "O" ring is installed on the two main rocket boosters on lift off. The Columbia was on final approach to land. So, the rings have nothing to do with the destruction.

 

[Solid Fro]

No, I don't think it's standard. Both cannot fit into the bay at one time, so they need to choose which one will be more important for the mission.

 

[vat_man]

I've been reading through the NASA press conference transcripts - there was no EVA activity on this flight (notably it wasn't an ISS mission), so the arm wasn't installed on this mission.

 

[vat_man]

Originally posted by rjensen11
Don't make duplicate threads

Given the circumstances that's probably a little harsh - I will merge the threads though.

 

[space]

Originally posted by Viper Zero
One space shuttle is built to last 100 missions. Columbia was on 28 missions. The age has nothing to do with it.

Yeah it does. NASA didn't plan on them to last that long (yes they were made for 100 missions each). But they thought that they could launch them more often (more than 4 times a year or so)

Sure the computers and electrical stuff aint 22 years old, but the skeletons of the shuttles sure are.

Age had something to do with it, but not as big of a part, as say one of the million or so parts that could break and take out the shuttle.

But you have to admit, that was one hell of a way to go out, in a blaze of glory. Only 7 others have that claim (if you count apollo 1 fire, than a few more). thats alot better than being one the a many who die of old age. (not to be harsh but i think it would be an awesome way to go)

 

[risingson77]

Just curious, who edited and moved the thread?

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by risingson77
Just curious, who edited and moved the thread?

Super vat_man, the Super Moderator with the Super Subaru merged the threads.

 

[risingson77]

Ah, a merger. That explains the increase in thread size as well....

 

[SandStorm]

You know what NASA stands for?

Need Another Seven Astronauts.

No offense meant to anyone deeply affected by the Columbia disaster, just trying to bring a bit of relief to the situation. Bawl me out if you want.

 

[Solid Fro]

I have more respect for those brave astronauts and NASA than to call it names.

 

[SandStorm]

It's your right to say what you want, mate, but I'm just trying to add a bit of relief to this event.

 

[Rossell]

I've been on other forums and they have been speaking about why are we comparing this to the other tragedies that happen in the world, like that bus which was blown up the other day.

Well, put it this way, being blown up in a tight space is better then spinning out of control 200,000 feet in the air travelling at 12,000 odd MPH.

I would happily be blown up on the ground then in that position.

Or shot, because thats the way I wanna die.

 

[Rossell]

And because of those forum people flaming me, I have thus re-edited my sig.

 

[DGB454]

Originally posted by km
let see there was a Israeli on there so he most likely was a suicide bomber and blew him self up or it could have been sabotaged

When was the last time you heard of an Israeli suicide bomber?

 

[Gil]

The israelis tend to be terrorist targets. They are not terrorists. The Palestinians on the other hand do deal in terror.
The Isrealis take a VERY dim view on terrorism. If terrorist get caught in Israel they are dealt with extremely harshly. That's why the Israeli secret service (Mossad) is one of the most feared in the world by terror dealing organizations.

The very idea of an Israeli suicide bomber is ludicrous.

 

[Pupik]

This is tough...I hopped in my car to go to work at 10am, turned on the radio, and was just stunned. I couldn't beleive it.

I remember the Challenger disaster, and never felt there would be another shuttle probelm like this again (although it's not remotely related).

I know some of you might think this is foolish, but if I were given the opportunity to fly in the Space Shuttle, then I'd still do it in a heartbeat. These brave souls have helped us in numerous ways; in ways we probably won't understand until we're ready to live on a planet or a place other than Earth.

My prayers are with the astronauts, the families, and those whom had to endure this tragedy.

 

[Duke]

I watched the Challenger explosion, live on TV, as it happened in 1986. I had come downstairs on my way to class (spring of my senior year in college); my housemate had the big TV on and I decided to skip class in favor of watching the launch in real time. We were all stunned to see the explosion and spent the rest of the day glued to the TV.

I said it that morning, and I said it yesterday morning: I would gladly accept a seat on the next shuttle they launch. Because I guarantee they won't have this problem again. And besides, I think that the space effort is the most important thing the human race can do right now. No matter how much effort we put into protecting the environment on Earth, the planet just isn't going to get any bigger. And no matter how carefully we live, something can always come by from deep space and snatch it away from us. The only solution is to get into space and spread ourselves around.

"The Earth is entirely too fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in." - Robert Heinlein

 

[halfracedrift]

well, actually
being blown up while IN space is worst than blowing up "literally" in the earths atmosphere, it guarantees a certain death, cuz if the xplosion didn't kill you, the fall will
in space, no gravity, no air
if you live the explosion, you will be slowly sufficated to death.... that..bad.... :'(

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by DGB454
When was the last time you heard of an Israeli suicide bomber?

I was kind of wondering that myself...

 

[DGB454]

M5,
Ok something is wrong. I don't remember you ever agreeing with me before. The end must be near...

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by DGB454
M5,
Ok something is wrong. I don't remember you ever agreeing with me before. The end must be near...

Fair point... let's all go cower in a bunker...

 

[SandStorm]

. . . while I drop bombs on you!

 

[kajunfisher]

this whole "event" happened less than an hour's drive from my house. yes, i heard the noise, saw more than i expected too. they're eventually going to move debris and remains to Barksdale AFB. i've watched about 2 days of coverage and got more information when they were actually letting the NASA engineers discuss what the potential problems were and to advise the public of what they know as of this time. these men are a very tight-knit community that devote their lives to the exploration of space, unselfishly.

terrorism has been ruled out, the shuttle was flying at over Mach 18 at an elevation of over 200,000 feet at the time a problem was noted. there are no ground-to-air missiles that are capable of reaching that height (30,000 max) or that speed (mach 3 tops).

yes, the shuttle is over 25 years old but the avionics package had been upgraded (some older units removed) and all the wiring had been redone in all of the shuttles due to wear issues and some incidents of arcing.

as far as the posts concerning the israeli crewmember on board, this guy has a very distinguished career in the israeli military and had been in the NASA space program since about 1996 (unsure of the exact date) and i find it highly unlikely that someone with his career and family background (mother and grandmother were holocaust survivors) could or would attempt to sabotage the shuttle. the items he brought on-board were a message of peace (a picture drawn by a child in a concentration camp during WW2).

my heart and prayers go out to the families of these brave men and women of the shuttle, to those having to stand strong in the face of what's happened and immediately having to face tv camera's say's so much about their character.

i hope that they find out the cause and fix it quickly, there are 2 astronauts and 1 cosmonaut still at the space station.

hopefully by now most everyone is aware of most of what i just stated, if not, then hopefully you're a little bit more informed.