Anyone just see some black crap break off the space shuttle while in flight?

[Poll_Blind]

This was from the video from the shuttle itself.

PB

[Staph]

1. I saw it, too.

I got shivers . . . . I hope that is something normal.

[Poll_Blind]

3. Did you see where it came from? It looked like it came from the front (from right of frame)

But I couldn't see exactly where. It was pretty big.

PB

[Staph]

6. From the TV picture,

it seemed to come from the upper right corner. That would be the forward part of the Shuttle or of the main fuel tank. I saw at least four separate objects cross the screen, but I couldn't verify where they came from.

[Kennah]

7. Me three, looked like small squares, and I thought tiles

[Dappleganger]

10. Oh shit, thoughts I was just seeing things.

:(

[rfranklin]

2. I think they flushed the toilet...

Just like those contrails you see up in the sky from airline jets when they empty their toilets.

[Brother Buzz]

5. They must have read the signs

[benld74]

4. That was a Florida GOP Congressman attempting to save the taxpayers more money,,,

[RKP5637]

8. Yep, I saw it too. n/t

[Poll_Blind]

9. Just saw it again on the replay, looked like it might've come off the front of the shuttle, like...

...maybe a tile or something. Was black. Broke into little bits after coming off. I doubt any of the legions of NASA engineers missed it. Will have to check the news to see what they make of it.



Happened pretty quickly but I think from this area or thereabouts.

PB

[Zoeisright]

11. Christ, not again.

[Poll_Blind]

14. It's not uncommon for little bits and pieces to fall off during launch. Best to wait and see...

...what NASA has to say about it. These guys are going up to the space station so in a worst case scenario, they at least have a place to hang out.

PB

[InvisibleTouch]

12. Oh, damn. I hope it's nothing dangerous.

Sad enough to see the shuttle program ending, but the last one really needs to come home safely.

[Thunderstruck]

13. CNN reporting now...

Says it's foam, which is what I thought.

[Poll_Blind]

15. Thanks for that heads up. There is a news conference scheduled very shortly and they'll probably...

...address it at that time.

PB

[Kennah]

17. Wasn't foam from the external tank the source of the 2003 Columbia disaster?

[RT Atlanta]

18. Yes

blew a hole in the leading carbon re-inforced edge of the left wing

[Thunderstruck]

20. Yes. The foam broke off and punched a hole in the leading edge

of the wing. When Columbia re-entered the atmosphere, the heat generated by friction with the upper atmosphere caused a tire to explode and controls in the wing burned out, leading to the breakup of the craft.

[RT Atlanta]

16. Saw it too

and thought "wow!"

by the time i realized what was happening, and the fact that one of the pieces hit the underside of Discovery's nose, I couldnt tell whether any visible damage was done.

THIS is precisely why all flights are to the same orbital plane of the space station - in the event of un-reparable damage during ascent, the crew can use the space station as a lifeboat while the stand-by orbiter is readied for a rescue mission.

When the orbiter pulls up to the space station, they will do a full high resolution imaging/laser measurment of the vehicle's underside to know for certain the extent of the damage (if any) and plan a course of action on how to repair (if possible).

[Poll_Blind]

19. Wow, that's some flight maintenance! I also agree that having a space station as...

...your destination is an added boon to safety. I didn't know about the laser scan of the hull but that makes so much sense. I used to amaze myself thinking about the level of maintence pre and post operation required for a lawnmower, a car, a prop plane, a jet, a space shuttle and how as you go up the chain the level of maintenance goes up astronomically.

PB

[Hell Hath No Fury]

22. You should watch the NASA channel!

It is a favorite of mine just before and during a mission. They cover all of the training and prep -- they have binders full of material that they go through every day on a mission, even just to stow stuff properly. I watched them train in case an emergency happened on the tarmac upon arrival and the shuttle had to be evacuated. They all had to earn to drive an escape vehicle. Who woudda thought? Just TONS of stuff that made perfect sense but you would have never thought about -- all in excruitatingly minute detail.

[Poll_Blind]

21. News conference starting now, probably on CNN as well as NASA channel.

PB