OT: Shuttle Breaks Up During Re-Entry

[One Eyed Jack]

Right now on CNN they are showing the space shuttle Columbia break up during re-entry. Impacts heard in Texas.

[ February 01, 2003, 14:43: Message edited by: One Eyed Jack ]

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by One Eyed Jack:
Right now on CNN they are showing the space shuttle Columbia break up during re-entry. Impacts heard in Texas.

I just saw it. This is very sad news.

[couslee]

Was just talking to my mom, she said she heard 3 or 4 back to back booms. kinda like the sound you hear when trains are being coupled to the cars.
She lives just outside the Dallas area.

Sad news indeed. Hopefully now NASA can get some more funding to replace the near 30 yr old shuttle fleet.

[Baron Munchausen]

Actually, the first shuttle flew in 1981 so they're 'only' 22 years old at most. But that's plenty. The hell of it is, the shuttle program is no closer to being replaced now than it was in 1986 when the Challenger was lost. It was supposed to be a stop-gap while the 'space plane' was developed and NASA has never gotten enough funding to develop that replacement. I wonder if they will get funding now, or if this is the death of NASA as well as those astronauts. No one, Republican or Democrat, has been friendly to the space program for decades. Once we finished the Apollo project interest just collapsed.

[ February 01, 2003, 15:29: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[Ragnarok]

Wow, that is hard to believe. I didn't get to see it on the news or nothing but I just read it on the CNN web site.

"than it was in 1898 when the Challenger was lost".

You mean we've had space missions since 1898? I'm sure that was a typo.

If I had billions of dollars I'd fund NASA. I love seeing space stuff on TV and seeing new discovories come around.
But I don't have that kind of money.

[ February 01, 2003, 15:31: Message edited by: Ragnarok ]

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
It was supposed to be a stop-gap while the 'space plane' was developed and NASA has never gotten enough funding to develop that replacement.

When the shuttle was new, Britian was working on an orbital launch vehice that used a hybrid(air breathing when in the atmosphere) engine. It was to be an alternative to the shuttle when it got old. Never heard about that again.

*Sigh* Richard P. Feynman was pretty critical about safety measures on the shuttle program. But seriously, what bailout procedure could possibly exist for Mach 20 at 200,000 feet.

[ February 01, 2003, 15:45: Message edited by: Arkcon ]