|
Shuttle insulation failure? Blame an Enviro
By Monica Davey and Jeremy ManierPosted February 4, 2003 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA officials on Monday were redoing their initial analysis of damage to Columbia from a briefcase-size chunk of debris that struck the orbiter, conceding they could have underestimated its risk to the shuttle and its crew. ... Technicians had traced [the problems] to a new foam formulation NASA contractor Lockheed Martin introduced in the mid-1990s to comply with environmental regulations ... The change was prompted by environmental concerns over using freon to spray on the foam. ... Hundreds of the heat-resistant tiles were damaged during a Columbia flight in 1997 when chunks of the foam broke off and hit the spacecraft. Some of the gouges were 15 inches long. ... Technicians traced at least part of the problem to a chemical called HCFC 141b, which Lockheed Martin began using in the mid-1990s as a replacement for the freon gas used to help spray on the foam. Yes this is old - but it shows you the same thing that happened in intelligence: when the politicians and old-boys get together and overrule the operational professionals and/or engineers, you get stuff like Columbia, and 9/11. Haven't seen an environmentalist yet step up and say they were sorry - and that they were wrong. Posted by: OldSpook 2005-07-28 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=125236 |