Re: Environmental Damage Seen From Space Shuttle
- From: "swan" <thirdwaveswan@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 6 Aug 2005 11:13:14 -0700
spiritrising wrote:
> maybe they should do something about all that propellent they spew into the
> air, that would be a big help just by itself. spiritrising
>
> "The_Unforgiven (The Subtle Troll)" <graaywolf@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1123308511.488938.140920@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > News Reuters
> >
> >
> > Environmental Damage Seen From Shuttle
> >
> >
> > Aug 4, 1:14 PM (ET)
> >
> > By Jeff Franks
> >
> > HOUSTON (Reuters) - Commander Eileen Collins said astronauts on shuttle
> > Discovery had seen widespread environmental destruction on Earth and
> > warned on Thursday that greater care was needed to protect natural
> > resources.
> >
> > Her comments came as NASA pondered whether to send astronauts out on an
> > extra spacewalk to repair additional heat-protection damage on the
> > first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster.
> >
> > Discovery is linked with the International Space Station and orbiting
> > 220 miles above the Earth.
> >
> > "Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there
> > is deforestation. It's very widespread in some parts of the world,"
> > Collins said in a conversation from space with Japanese officials in
> > Tokyo, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
> >
> > "We would like to see, from the astronauts' point of view, people take
> > good care of the Earth and replace the resources that have been used,"
> > said Collins, who was standing with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi
> > in front of a Japanese flag and holding a colorful fan.
> >
> > Collins, flying her fourth shuttle mission, said the view from space
> > made clear that Earth's atmosphere must be protected, too.
> >
> > "The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very
> > thin," she said. "We know that we don't have much air, we need to
> > protect what we have."
> >
> > While Collins and Noguchi chatted, NASA officials were deciding whether
> > a torn insulation blanket protecting part of the shuttle surface could
> > rip off and strike a damaging blow to Discovery when it re-enters the
> > atmosphere.
> >
> > They said it could require another spacewalk to fix, which would take
> > place on Saturday if needed. A decision was expected on Thursday
> > afternoon.
> >
> > Noguchi and astronaut Steve Robinson already have done three
> > spacewalks, including a landmark walk on Wednesday to remove loose
> > cloth strips protruding from Discovery's belly. NASA feared the strips
> > could cause dangerous heat damage when the shuttle lands on Monday.
> >
> > COLUMBIA TRIBUTE
> >
> > The combined crew of Discovery and the space station, nine in all, paid
> > tribute on Thursday to the Columbia crew and other astronauts who have
> > died in space accidents. They took turns speaking while television
> > shots from the shuttle showed it passing over a sunlit Earth, then into
> > night.
> >
> > "Tragically, two years ago, we came once more to realize that we had
> > let our guard down. We became lost in our hubris and learned once more
> > the terrible price that must be paid for our failures," said mission
> > specialist Charles Camarda. "In that accident, we not only lost seven
> > colleagues, we lost seven friends."
> >
> > Columbia broke apart before landing on Feb. 1, 2003, and the seven
> > astronauts on board died.
> >
> > Loose insulation foam from the fuel tank struck the wing heat shield at
> > launch 16 days before, causing a hole that allowed superheated gases to
> > penetrate and destroy the shuttle when it descended into the
> > atmosphere.
> >
> > NASA spent 2 1/2 years and $1 billion on safety upgrades after
> > Columbia, but videos showed loose tank foam at Discovery's launch last
> > week. The agency suspended shuttle flights until the foam problem is
> > fixed.
> >
> > A report in The New York Times suggested NASA was not as careful as it
> > could have been about the foam issue.
> >
> > The Times said an internal NASA memo, written in December by a retired
> > NASA engineer brought back to monitor the quality of the foam
> > operation, complained that deficiencies remained in the way foam was
> > being applied to the fuel tank and warned "there will continue to be a
> > threat of critical debris generation."
> >
> > A spokesman at Johnson Space Center in Houston told Reuters he had not
> > yet seen the Times report and could not comment.
> >
> > GraayWolf
> >
I was in Lompoc California near Vandenburg Air Force Base in the summer
of 93 when they shot off the Trident II. We were standing in a parking
lot watching the launch. It's amazing - the ground shakes like jello.
This huge rocket roars up into the sky and when it gets right overhead
(way way up there in the sky) - bam! It blows up!! Of course, no people
were on board that one but this day-glo orange colored gas spread out
like a stain from where the thing blew up - and the people I was with
said, uh-oh, better go inside and close the windows. I asked them how
long we had to keep the windows closed and they said 2 or 3 months!
They said, everytime one of these things blows up a lot of people
around here get sick. This really happened. Whoa . . . . . .swan . . .
.. . . .
.
- References:
- Environmental Damage Seen From Space Shuttle
- From: The_Unforgiven (The Subtle Troll)
- Re: Environmental Damage Seen From Space Shuttle
- From: spiritrising
- Environmental Damage Seen From Space Shuttle
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