Re: Discovery flies!

"Tom Betka" <tbetka@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:la3je1hr5783sht8rim0buo2gnkncluqua@xxxxxxxxxx
> On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 13:10:26 -0500, "John P" <Private@xxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> There's a saying in aviation... "Flying is inherently dangerous."
>
> And space flight is even more so. Despite Mike Griffin's wish to
> substantially limit the remaining shuttle flights to less than 20, I
> do not think we have seen the last of the shuttle. Yes, they still
> have a problem to solve with the foam--but they have gotten much of
> the problem resolved. The foam that broke off along the side of the
> tank (near the ice ramp) was NOT in the area where the foam had been
> reapplied using newer techniques. From what I understand, they didn't
> think there was a problem there. This being the first time they had so
> many cameras watching everything, who the hell knows how much foam has
> come off there before (as the main tanks are never recovered)?
>
> I for one would like to see them somehow put the foam between two
> layers; an inner & outer shell as it were. Then there shouldn't be a
> foam issue. I am fairly certain this has been thought of though, so I
> don't know where they will go. But it *will* take some time.


The basic problem I have with the foam is that they put them self in a
situation where they needed it in the first place. The external fuel tank is
a single wall tank, very cold, and the ice that forms is a hazard to the
shuttle. So they put foam on it and now the foam is a hazard. Like you said
they're going to need to look at a double-wall tank with the foam inside.

But why wasn't this an issue on the Apollo flights? First off the ice formed
on the rocket below the command module, so there's no way it was going to
get with a chunk. Second the all-inportant head shield (AKA "ticket home")
was well protected between the command module and the 3rd stage.

I know my opinion is biased on the topic since both my parents worked the
Apollo and Shuttle programs, but I still think the Shuttle was a wrong turn
for NASA. The Saturn V could lift far more payload and cost far less per
launch than the Shuttle does. Can you imagine what we would have if they had
kept developing on that line for the last 30 years?

Sean





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Relevant Pages

  • RTF is screwed latest foam tests........
    ... Tank foam lost during shuttle wind tunnel test ... place, featured long, sloping ramps to smooth the flow of air. ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • Re: Borrowed time?
    ... >>> First post here and I'm curious... ... >>Because, two and a half years ago, such a piece of foam killed the ... > Now there's a new lighter system that only inerts the center tank. ... >>ten thousand flights. ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • NEWS: NASA halts shuttle flights over tank foam problem - Reuters
    ... NASA halts shuttle flights over tank foam problem ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Is This Getting Old Yet?
    ... because the shuttle does have a long history of this very problem... ... get the foam to remain intact... ... loss on more than 50% of *all* shuttle flights, ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Borrowed time?
    ... >> First post here and I'm curious... ... >Because, two and a half years ago, such a piece of foam killed the ... Now there's a new lighter system that only inerts the center tank. ... >ten thousand flights. ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
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