How warning signs were ignored before disaster shuttle's launch

As Nasa braces itself for the official report into the Columbia tragedy, The Observer reveals how budget cuts hit vital safety measures

David Rose in Chattanooga
Sunday June 22, 2003
The Observer

It looked like a flawless landing. Two days after Christmas 1999, a little after 7pm, the space shuttle Discovery touched down safely at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, its eight-day mission to service the Hubble space telescope complete.

Here is the rest of the story:
www.observer.co.uk...

Budget Cuts?? Really?

This is likley a maneuver to get increased budget on NASAs part... I understand that the shuttle was actually taken down by a scalar weapon originating in China, which was likely a warning to us against going into Iraq.

I understand that the shuttle was actually taken down by a scalar weapon originating in China, which was likely a warning to us against going into Iraq.

What makes you think that's what really happened DR?

sounds like ultimately the same thing that brought down the Challenger...laxity in safety and not enough money to go around.

Dragonrider, a Chinese involvement? Really?


regards
seekerof

The Discovery Channel ran a special on the Columbia last night which detailed the making of the tiles which protect her from re-entry heat and one thing I never knew was hos fragile they are but man, they really dissipate heat quickly. Carbon/Carbon alloys protect the nose and leading edges of the wings where the heat is far more intense than the rest of the ship. If the tiles are this fragile, there may be a chance that the debris from the foam insulation might have damaged them. I just have a feeling there is more to it than this.

Originally posted by astrocreep
If the tiles are this fragile, there may be a chance that the debris from the foam insulation might have damaged them. I just have a feeling there is more to it than this.

me too. and I still wonder why it was so important that no one touch debris from the shuttle. was there something dangerous on the debris? possibly because they wanted it as untouched as possible for investigative purposes? they never told us, or I never heard why. telling people not to touch it and giving a logical reason for it is one thing, but just telling people to stay away is another thing completely.

Originally posted by MorningtonCrescent

Originally posted by astrocreep
If the tiles are this fragile, there may be a chance that the debris from the foam insulation might have damaged them. I just have a feeling there is more to it than this.

me too. and I still wonder why it was so important that no one touch debris from the shuttle. was there something dangerous on the debris? possibly because they wanted it as untouched as possible for investigative purposes? they never told us, or I never heard why. telling people not to touch it and giving a logical reason for it is one thing, but just telling people to stay away is another thing completely.

I'm not sure if there was another reason for wanting people to stay away from the debris other than the possibility of radiation levels being above tolerable levels. The shuttle is in contact with significant levels of radiation in space but there might be another reason too, I'm not sure.. anyone got any ideas?