Spaceflight 🚀Feb 1, 2023

#BBC #Columbia #SpaceShuttle Investigation https://youtu.be/2eTRaJGDe-8

'You know, there is nothing we can do about #damage to the TPS. If it has been damaged it’s probably better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don’t you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on #orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done, until the air ran out ?'”
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150130-what-caused-the-columbia-disaster

#HumanSpaceflightSecurity #SpaceMaintenance #SpaceAgency #SpacePolitics

Columbia Shuttle Investigation | Last Flight of Space Shuttle Columbia | BBC

YouTube
Show threadSpaceflight 🚀Feb 3, 2023
As #Columbia thundered into #orbit, #Atlantis' main engines had already been installed. So an in-orbit rescue was at least #feasible. Mission planners believed they could stretch Columbia's supply to cover a total of 30 days ⌛ https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/02/the-audacious-rescue-plan-that-might-have-saved-space-shuttle-columbia-2/2/
The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia

The untold story of the rescue mission that could have been NASA's finest hour.

Ars Technica
Show threadSpaceflight 🚀
#NASA had designed the #SpaceShuttle hatch 🚪 to open outward. It was a relatively simple procedure, requiring little physical force, as the hatch opened into the vacuum of #OuterSpace. Overmyer was clearly concerned. So he put #DuctTape on the hatch as a stop-gap. The next day, Wang did receive permission to work on the experiment, and he eventually got it working. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/01/solving-a-nasa-mystery-why-did-space-shuttle-commanders-lock-the-hatch/3/
What happens when an astronaut in orbit says he’s not coming back?

If you guys don't give me a chance to repair my instrument, I'm not going back."

Ars Technica
Jan 25, 2024 at 2:42pmWeb