First space shuttle launched 30 years ago

[bakubo]

Here is a photo of the launch of the first space shuttle 30 years ago today on April 12, 1981. It was the Columbia, which on February 1, 2003 disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. I bought a big print of this in a wood frame in 1981, but I gave it away a few years ago.

712px-Space_Shuttle_Columbia_launching.jpg

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[Dr. Harout]

For me, the most exciting was (and still is I guess) Apollo 11.

[Birma]

For me it is sad to think that the Space Shuttle project has reached a conclusion. I saw a very interesting TV programme about the rings of Saturn last night based on the information from a rocket based mission so I guess we are still exploring the solar system.

[bakubo]

For me, the most exciting was (and still is I guess) Apollo 11.

Me too! I remember very well in July 1969 at night lying on the grass on the front lawn with my buddies Randy and Ricky (we were all 12 years old) and gazing up at the moon. We were in awe that at that very moment Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were up there in the LEM. In 1965 I lived in Florida and whenever there was a Gemini launch at Cape Kennedy the whole school would go out to the playground to watch. It was far away, of course, but we could see the bright light rising into the sky.

[Greg Beetham]

I’ve been reading the report of the Columbia accident at the NASA site (again), they’ve added some new sections. They go into more detail about the progression of the wing failure. I still didn’t find out who it was who said to the crew that there was a debris impact incident on lift-off…but there was absolutely no cause for concern. Or why there was no attempt to inspect the impact area, just to be sure everything with the leading edge carbon-carbon panels was ok.
I would have thought that would be mandatory seeing as how those panels protect the structure from the heat of the 8000 degree re-entry. The other thing I couldn’t find out was…was it quick for the occupants of the orbiter, I have always had the horrible thought of them being burnt alive.
I don’t know what plans there were/are in place for the repair of those critical panels if one had been found to be damaged, each one is its own unique shape so it’s not plausible to carry spares, but what kind of repair would be possible in orbit anyhow? Is there an adhesive that would work to fix a piece of CC over the hole or crack? Or would a rocket have to be sent up with the replacement panel? Personally I think the best solution would be to send up another shuttle to collect the astronauts and possibly the payload of the rescue shuttle could contain a good sized fuel pod for the injured shuttle so it could do a very heavy retro-burn, cutting the speed by 2/3 or more before entering the atmosphere…but who would be game enough to pilot it even then?
Even though the overall design of the space shuttle meant that the cargo bay was reserved for items to be delivered into orbit, things like the Hubble space telescope, and no room left over for a fuel tank big enough to run the main engines for a much more meaningful de-orbit retro burn, (and thus reduce the extreme risk factor of aero-braking at 20,000Kmh), it was a marvel just the same, the most complex machine ever built.
I just don’t know what, if anything, NASA is going to replace it with, private industry isn’t going to pick up that slack; Richard Branson’s little space plane isn’t remotely in the same league with it’s joy flights up and down with no orbital insertion. The only other space ship that can go up into orbit and return safely (presumably) at the moment is the secret USAF mini shuttle that no one knows the use of except maybe to deliver some kind of surveillance satellites into orbit…something a large rocket can do anyway, it takes a large rocket to deliver it into orbit in any case…weird. The USAF has always been out of sorts with NASA for not giving preference to air-force payload requirements and devoting too much energy on research based missions. This is the same mentality that gave us no news of gamma ray bursters for many many years; even though the USAF had satellites in orbit that were detecting them the science community were kept in the dark about their existence. The thinking was that if they announced them (gamma ray bursters) then the existence of the satellites themselves (and their capabilities) would also be revealed.
Greg