Report on Columbia Details How Astronauts Died

TheMercenary · 12-31-2008, 05:28 AM

Seven astronauts slipped into unconsciousness within seconds and their bodies were whipped around in seats whose restraints failed as the space shuttle Columbia spun out of control and disintegrated in 2003, according to a new report from NASA.

While the astronauts’ upper bodies flailed, the helmets that were supposed to protect them ended up battering their skulls, the report said, and “lethal trauma occurred to the unconscious or deceased crew due to the lack of upper-body support and restraint.”

Investigators state bluntly in the 400-page report that better equipment in the crew cabin would not have saved the astronauts on the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, as the Columbia disintegrated after re-entering the atmosphere on the way to its landing strip in Florida. “The breakup of the crew module and the crew’s subsequent exposure to hypersonic entry conditions was not survivable by any currently existing capability,” they wrote.

They added, “There is no known complete protection from the breakup event except to prevent its occurrence.”

The report’s goal, NASA officials said, is to provide a guideline for safety in the design of future spacecraft. In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, N. Wayne Hale, Jr., a former head of the shuttle program, said, “I call on spacecraft designers from all the other nations of the world, as well as the commercial and personal spacecraft designers here at home, to read this report and apply these lessons which have been paid for so dearly.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/sc...ml?ref=science

This was an interesting piece of closure to the Shuttle Program.

classicman · 12-31-2008, 08:26 AM

What were these conclusions based upon? Did they have recorders or "little black boxes." Were they still in contact with the astronauts? Are there cameras inside beaming signals back?
After reading the article I am left wondering if it is supposition or fact.

Griff · 12-31-2008, 08:30 AM

I don't know about you guys but I'd just as soon be unconscious if I'm gonna burn to death. Give me the crappy helmet please.

xoxoxoBruce · 12-31-2008, 09:06 AM

Some dude on the tube said they were unconscious because they lost cabin pressure (oxygen), and they know exactly when this happened because everyone on board was madly pushing buttons up to this point.

TheMercenary · 12-31-2008, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by classicman

What were these conclusions based upon? Did they have recorders or "little black boxes." Were they still in contact with the astronauts? Are there cameras inside beaming signals back?
After reading the article I am left wondering if it is supposition or fact.

My guess would be that autopsy results combined with many years of aircraft accident reconstruction from examination of critical parts, cabin furniture, burn marks, as well as data directly from the aircraft as it broke up gave them the best picture they could get from it. We have been studying aircraft accident scenes for so many years other countries rely on our services with major plane crashes. I think it is the most accurate unclassified result were are going to get at this point.

Flint · 12-31-2008, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

...
"the helmets that were supposed to protect them ended up battering their skulls"
...

The helmets were supposed to "protect them" by providing oxygen, not impact insurance.

Shawnee123 · 12-31-2008, 11:35 AM

You're in a space shuttle. The space shuttle malfunctions. Bye. No helmet will save you, unless it's a helmet made of bubbles and butterflies.

TheMercenary · 12-31-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

The helmets were supposed to "protect them" by providing oxygen, not impact insurance.

Agreed. The quote is from the article. I still find that type of forensic pathology very interesting.

Flint · 12-31-2008, 12:56 PM

Yeah, the little quotes are inside the quote. A quoted quote.

"..."...I thought about doing something like this..."..."

Shawnee123 · 12-31-2008, 12:59 PM

You're in a space shuttle. The space shuttle malfunctions. Bye. No helmet will save you, unless it's a helmet made of bubbles and butterflies

Shawnee123 · 12-31-2008, 01:00 PM

ooops

barefoot serpent · 12-31-2008, 05:05 PM

they found a video tape (rather miraculously) taken by one of the crew during reentry.

somewhere it must be available... (???) IIRC it shows most of the crew (some not wearing helmets) while the 'light show' begins outside.

the finding of the tape is also very interesting: a rancher contacts NASA saying he found a piece of shuttle on his prop. The crew goes out to pick it up and finds the tape casette lying next to the vehicle where they parked.

edit:
release of tape + details

classicman · 12-31-2008, 05:30 PM

Wow! thats incredible.

tw · 12-31-2008, 07:38 PM

The crew were wearing helmets except maybe one who was still busy performing a pre-reentry task. But sudden and massive decompression immobilized the crew quickly. Only one is believed to be 'pressing buttons' probably trying to restart two (of three) APUs so as to restore hydraulic pressure. He did not know hydraulic fluid had already drained out into the left wing. And, of course, the pilot and commander were desperately trying to fix a problem completely unknown even though hundreds of engineers suspected that problem existed.

The report states why the crew was killed five times over. The report is very careful to not describe what happened to the bodies except to note indications of decompression in tissue samples.

Also not described in this report or the previous one is the sensor man who was asked what would happen if the Shuttle had a hole and started to disintegrate. He is photographed as reciting those exact same events in a very controlled voice knowing full well the crew was perishing.

12-31-2008, 05:28 AM	#1
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Report on Columbia Details How Astronauts Died Seven astronauts slipped into unconsciousness within seconds and their bodies were whipped around in seats whose restraints failed as the space shuttle Columbia spun out of control and disintegrated in 2003, according to a new report from NASA. While the astronauts’ upper bodies flailed, the helmets that were supposed to protect them ended up battering their skulls, the report said, and “lethal trauma occurred to the unconscious or deceased crew due to the lack of upper-body support and restraint.” Investigators state bluntly in the 400-page report that better equipment in the crew cabin would not have saved the astronauts on the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, as the Columbia disintegrated after re-entering the atmosphere on the way to its landing strip in Florida. “The breakup of the crew module and the crew’s subsequent exposure to hypersonic entry conditions was not survivable by any currently existing capability,” they wrote. They added, “There is no known complete protection from the breakup event except to prevent its occurrence.” The report’s goal, NASA officials said, is to provide a guideline for safety in the design of future spacecraft. In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, N. Wayne Hale, Jr., a former head of the shuttle program, said, “I call on spacecraft designers from all the other nations of the world, as well as the commercial and personal spacecraft designers here at home, to read this report and apply these lessons which have been paid for so dearly.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/sc...ml?ref=science This was an interesting piece of closure to the Shuttle Program. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

12-31-2008, 08:26 AM	#2
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	What were these conclusions based upon? Did they have recorders or "little black boxes." Were they still in contact with the astronauts? Are there cameras inside beaming signals back? After reading the article I am left wondering if it is supposition or fact. __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

12-31-2008, 08:30 AM	#3
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	I don't know about you guys but I'd just as soon be unconscious if I'm gonna burn to death. Give me the crappy helmet please. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

12-31-2008, 09:06 AM	#4
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Some dude on the tube said they were unconscious because they lost cabin pressure (oxygen), and they know exactly when this happened because everyone on board was madly pushing buttons up to this point. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

12-31-2008, 11:35 AM	#7
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	You're in a space shuttle. The space shuttle malfunctions. Bye. No helmet will save you, unless it's a helmet made of bubbles and butterflies. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-31-2008, 12:56 PM	#9
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Yeah, the little quotes are inside the quote. A quoted quote. "..."...I thought about doing something like this..."..." __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

12-31-2008, 12:59 PM	#10
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	You're in a space shuttle. The space shuttle malfunctions. Bye. No helmet will save you, unless it's a helmet made of bubbles and butterflies __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-31-2008, 01:00 PM	#11
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	ooops __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-31-2008, 05:05 PM	#12
barefoot serpent go ahead, abbrev. it Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 2,623	they found a video tape (rather miraculously) taken by one of the crew during reentry. somewhere it must be available... (???) IIRC it shows most of the crew (some not wearing helmets) while the 'light show' begins outside. the finding of the tape is also very interesting: a rancher contacts NASA saying he found a piece of shuttle on his prop. The crew goes out to pick it up and finds the tape casette lying next to the vehicle where they parked. edit: release of tape + details __________________ Chooses rowing vs. wading Last edited by barefoot serpent; 12-31-2008 at 05:12 PM. Reason: add another link

12-31-2008, 05:30 PM	#13
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	Wow! thats incredible. __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

12-31-2008, 07:38 PM	#14
tw Read? I only know how to write. Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 11,933	The crew were wearing helmets except maybe one who was still busy performing a pre-reentry task. But sudden and massive decompression immobilized the crew quickly. Only one is believed to be 'pressing buttons' probably trying to restart two (of three) APUs so as to restore hydraulic pressure. He did not know hydraulic fluid had already drained out into the left wing. And, of course, the pilot and commander were desperately trying to fix a problem completely unknown even though hundreds of engineers suspected that problem existed. The report states why the crew was killed five times over. The report is very careful to not describe what happened to the bodies except to note indications of decompression in tissue samples. Also not described in this report or the previous one is the sensor man who was asked what would happen if the Shuttle had a hole and started to disintegrate. He is photographed as reciting those exact same events in a very controlled voice knowing full well the crew was perishing.

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