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Challenger RIP


TheMadCap

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While watching the news coverage of this tragedy, my then 19 month daughter stated, " Daddy, everyone is sad."

and I'll always remember how she made that statement and how intently she watched all the news shows.

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This one will always be the one that makes me the most angry. GD it, the friggin KNEW there were problems with that damn booster. Even worse, was they let the same things happen again, 17 years later.

 

Although I cannot blame NASA for claiming the astronauts met thier fate quickly, the story surrounding the recovery of the crew capsule is one that does not get much talk. Granted, they couldn't very well come out and say, "gee, your loved ones died in the most horrifying manner imaginable". The following article from the Miami Herald in 1988 talks about the lengths that NASA went through to ensure this information did not become the agreed upon story. It is not pleasent, and those who find talk about the fate of the crew of Challenger should avoid at all costs. You have been warned.

 

http://www.lutins.org/nasa.html

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I saw this happen live off the coast. I skipped class to go see the launch. When it went up, then the explosion, then the "Y" of smoke....I had to go to the nearest K-mart and beg the manager to turn on the televisions to see what went wrong. Haven't watched a launch since...RIP

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This one will always be the one that makes me the most angry. GD it, the friggin KNEW there were problems with that damn booster. Even worse, was they let the same things happen again, 17 years later.

 

Although I cannot blame NASA for claiming the astronauts met thier fate quickly, the story surrounding the recovery of the crew capsule is one that does not get much talk. Granted, they couldn't very well come out and say, "gee, your loved ones died in the most horrifying manner imaginable". The following article from the Miami Herald in 1988 talks about the lengths that NASA went through to ensure this information did not become the agreed upon story. It is not pleasent, and those who find talk about the fate of the crew of Challenger should avoid at all costs. You have been warned.

 

http://www.lutins.org/nasa.html

 

Ugh. That's one of the worst stories I've ever read.

 

I could feel the bile rising up in my throat as I went through it.

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Ugh. That's one of the worst stories I've ever read.

 

I could feel the bile rising up in my throat as I went through it.

 

I couldn't even fathom having to do what those divers did, or Joseph Kerwin, the ME. Even worse, these were friends of his...

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Ugh. That's one of the worst stories I've ever read.

 

I could feel the bile rising up in my throat as I went through it.

 

 

I found that quote about how he wants to do his job correctly so they're not talking about the disaster in 20 years somewhat ironic.

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I found that quote about how he wants to do his job correctly so they're not talking about the disaster in 20 years somewhat ironic.

 

Indeed. If one studies the situations, people involved and decision making processes involved, you will quickly find nealy the same mistakes were made in both shuttle losses.

 

On final word on the fate of the astronauts:

 

There is NO doubt they survived to impact with the Atlantic. NONE. What I don't know for sure is if they were awake and coherent when the end came. All I can tell you is what my source at NASA told me in another post:

 

"True downlink was lost when at some point the crew compartment I saw it falling, but there is an internal voice recording system that they recovered. Nothing to do with downlink. More like a casette recorder that cost alot I'm sure. There were further words said but by the time they (started to lose their lives - edit) due to the excesssive G forces not much was said. Once sad event took place. I can't remember who told me maybe a diver but the Oxygen bottle behind the seat of the Commander was turned on and O2 had been used. The person sitting behind the commander is the only one that can reach the O2 bottle when they are all buckled in. Between the rupture of the two tanks and the falling due to Gravity and the spinning due to the momentum imparted as the capsule seperated from the main structure, the designers estimated the crew sustained (at some point) 250 Gs. Man that's a tough way to go."

 

I did not, nor would I want to know, what was said. That is and should be a private matter. I think you can all imagine it if you care to...

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