# We've Just Lost a Shuttle! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097 "2003-02-01T14:41:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/221 "2003-02-01T21:09:53Z")
Eli-The press conference just said there is no ‘hardened black box’ but there are data recorders. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/222 "2003-02-01T21:20:27Z")
second time a shuttle has been lost near my birthday. and i was having a good day until i went to bed at 5:20, turned off the vcr, and NBC(channel 3) was on with fotage of flaming debris. i was 8 when Challenger was lost. so sad ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/223 "2003-02-01T21:24:14Z")
This is crazy, just crazy. I can’t believe this. That radar map is insane, where you can see a streak of debris going over many states. I’ve been babysitting since 8 this morning (watching cartoons all day!), and didn’t hear about it until I called my boyfriend at about 3 this afternoon. My heart goes out to the astronauts and their families. What a sad day this is. ---
**Author:** ![aaaaaarrgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@aaaaaarrgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaaaaarrgg)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/224 "2003-02-01T21:24:43Z")
i was born in 1985, so i didn’t even know how to talk yet when the challenger blew up. i woke up this morning and my parents told me and my thoughts went to the challenger, then to my friend val. she’s going to mit next year and she has wanted to be an astronaut since she was a kid…it makes you think of how much risk is taken every time a shuttle launches and how brave the astronauts are. give an extra hug to everyone you love today. ---
**Author:** ![Iamthat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Iamthat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iamthat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/225 "2003-02-01T21:25:10Z")
They should have ejection capsules. But at 18 x the speed of sound would be possible? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/226 "2003-02-01T21:31:44Z")
Tragic. Sad. Horrible. Blah. ☹ Esprix ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/227 "2003-02-01T21:43:01Z")
I got dumped this morning. Shortly afterward, I started up my web browser. Perspective is a bitch sometimes. Godspeed, Columbia. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/228 "2003-02-01T21:54:40Z")
Our prayers are with family and friends.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Regina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@Regina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regina)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/229 "2003-02-01T22:09:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whiterabbit \* > \*\*I was given a “word a day” calendar by my former voice teacher just prior to my leaving town. Today’s word – Valhalla. > > Weird, huh? \*\* The book I am currently reading, _Titan_ by Stephen Baxter, 1997, has astronauts in 2004 flying Columbia. The very page I’m on, 48, the craft is experiencing multiple failures and may not be able to get home: “Her perspective changed. It was, she realized, perfectly possible that she wasn’t going to make it through; that suddenly so quickly it had become her day to die.” Wow. Talk about spooky. I spent a lovely tv-free a.m. and didn’t know until 1:30 CST or so when my sister told me as we started our dog walk. I don’t think it’s hit me yet. Like others, I clearly remember when the Challenger disaster happened; on my way to class, driving dad’s old Dodge Dart, heard it on the radio. My boyfriend at the time, later to be my husband, was so into space stuff (and Rush, **Coldfire** ; I too thought of _Countdown_) and it was pretty interesting to me, too, a die-hard SF fan, and we were pretty bummed out, to say the least. I still haven’t turned on the tv or read anything online; I guess I’m in denial. I came here first to see what reasonable people were saying before hearing the media’s take. ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/230 "2003-02-01T22:26:33Z")
> [@](#): > > I still haven’t turned on the tv or read anything online; I guess I’m in denial. I came here first to see what reasonable people were saying before hearing the media’s take. Shuttle wing lost power, maybe heat tiles [http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/01/shuttle.investigation/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/01/shuttle.investigation/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/231 "2003-02-01T22:33:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DirkGntly \* > \*\* Naturally, we will have to wait for the final investigation, but it looks to me that the crew was basically dead at liftoff, due to ceramic tile damage, which could not be repaired in orbit. \*\* Couldn’t they have stayed at the ISS and taken a Soyez home, or _Endevor_ or something while scientists figured out what to do with Columbia? I doubt they would have been allowed to reenter if it was known they were doomed. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/232 "2003-02-01T22:43:13Z")
Now that I’ve had some time to get past my initial shock and grief at all this, a selfish, paranoid thought ran through my head on pitter-pattering little feet. What bothers me _personally_, as in, in regard to my personal safety, is this “cloud of particulate matter” being picked up on [weather radar](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS.p19r0/si.kpoe.shtml), and suchlike. I’m thinking of the hydrazine and other noxious chemicals used for propulsion of the shuttle. And I’m thinking about the Gulf Stream. And I’m thinking about all the folks living in east Texas (one particular group, especially) and Lousiana, and possibly, the Florida Gulf Coast… And now I’m thinking about my two year old daughter, who’s spending the day with her grandparents while Mrs. Skeezix and I try to finish up house painting/home repair stuff we’ve been planning to do all week… Shit. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/233 "2003-02-01T22:44:08Z")
The _Columbia_ was not equipped with a docking mechanism that would allow it to dock with the ISS (see [here](http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/01/shuttle.columbia.history/index.html)). _Maybe_ they could have gone from the shuttle to the station in suits, but I don’t know if they could have all gone… ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/234 "2003-02-01T22:45:29Z")
**Weirddave** , Columbia hadn’t gone to the ISS, so I’m guessing that figuring out how to get them there would have been a lot of work, seeing that they must have thought that there weren’t any major problems with the ship. The next launch in March was supposed to go there, but I’m guessing there won’t be any shuttle flights for a while. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/235 "2003-02-01T22:45:39Z")
I wanted to watch cartoons this morning, but instead ended up watching the shuttle fall out of the sky. An Israeli friend of mine was in tears over it - Ilan Ramon was a bit of good news for Israel in a very depressing time. And my sister goes is at teh Air Force Academy, which probably qualifies as the highest concetration of aspiring rocket scientists at any college or university. She’s wanted to be involved in the space program since she was three, literally. She’s heartbroken. Damn. BTW - I don’t think that anyone realized there was true damage to the wing tiling after liftoff. I at least assume that if they had, they would have had the shuttle do an emergency abort. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/236 "2003-02-01T22:50:42Z")
Thanks for the poem by John McGee, Jr. I’ve never heard it before ( being poetry impaired) but it is very appropriate and just lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/237 "2003-02-01T22:52:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jab1 \* > \*\*The _Columbia_ was not equipped with a docking mechanism that would allow it to dock with the ISS (see [here](http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/01/shuttle.columbia.history/index.html)). _Maybe_ they could have gone from the shuttle to the station in suits, but I don’t know if they could have all gone… \*\* I don’t think there were any suits on board. I may be mistaken, though. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/238 "2003-02-01T23:10:11Z")
Wouldn’t they HAVE to have suits on board in case of an emergency? Still, spacewalking from a shuttle to the station would have been quite dangerous, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Badge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Badge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badge)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/239 "2003-02-01T23:21:15Z")
I’m going to risk getting in trouble for posting full lyrics to a song, but this is too perfect (and I doubt anyone else has heard it). Fly, _Columbia!_ Thunder toward tomorrow on an oxygen stream. Thunder toward tomorrow; fire flame and rocket song Mark a new time of man, Booster candles light the dawn. Fly, _Columbia!_ Foundation of the future, courier of dreams Thunder on . . . Sunshine brightens the horizon. Tension rings the morning haze. The shuttle’s standing proud against the wind . . . Nose to distant stars her delta wings will never grace. Countdown paces race. The launch begins. _Columbia!_ the promise of better days to come. _Columbia!_, new mistress of the sky, Sail in orbit free, track the moon and chase the sun. Fly, _Columbia!_, for humankind, fly! _ **Fly, Columbia** _ by Diana Gallagher ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097/240 "2003-02-01T23:26:59Z")
I listeneed to that tape this morning, Badge. That and Dancing on the Moon have always been my favorites of hers. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-just-lost-a-shuttle/152097.md?page=13)