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(Fark)   20 years ago today, Fark followed the Columbia shuttle disaster in real time   (fark.com) divider line
165
    More: Sad, Space Shuttle Columbia, NASA, Space Shuttle, Kennedy Space Center, Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, Landing, Bullet, International Space Station  
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2412 clicks; posted to Main » and STEM » on 01 Feb 2023 at 9:16 AM (8 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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Farkonaut
2023-02-01 8:59:18 AM  
I had been following the whole ordeal because they knew about the foam strike days before, and they were going to try re-entry anyway.  We had been traveling the night before so woke up late the next morning to watch it breaking apart on live T.V.

It a lot of ways it was even worse than Challenger because they knew it was damaged and did it anyway.
 
Walker [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:17:19 AM  
"I was there"
cdn.vox-cdn.comView Full Size
 
Azz
2023-02-01 9:17:54 AM  
111 comments? That doesn't even sound like a proper orgy
 
Farkonaut
2023-02-01 9:20:46 AM  

Walker: "I was there"
[cdn.vox-cdn.com image 850x478]


The only NASA astronaut to survive both Challenger and Columbia Disasters. He also regained control over Flight 93 and landed it safely.
 
rnatalie [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-01 9:21:23 AM  
I remember that my wife and I were team driving from Virginia to Nebraska pulling a trailer.    We had just pulled into the Iowa80 truckstop for breakfast when we saw the news on the TV.

My wife worked at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy center at the time.   NASA came and took pieces (leading edges) off the Enterprise (which was there at the time) for analysis in trying to piece together what happened.
 
MythDragon
2023-02-01 9:23:32 AM  

Farkonaut: I had been following the whole ordeal because they knew about the foam strike days before, and they were going to try re-entry anyway....

...It a lot of ways it was even worse than Challenger because they knew it was damaged and did it anyway.


Well it's not like they had many options. It was
Stay in orbit and die
Come back to Earth and maybe die.

The Shuttle had what, maybe 2 or so weeks of operational time? Don't see NASA getting a rescue up in that window.
 
Pert
2023-02-01 9:23:42 AM  
Weirdly, I distinctly remember the Challenger disaster from when I was a kid, but would have sworn that was the only shuttle disaster.

I have no memory of Columbia.

/was probably drunk for a couple of weeks at the time
 
steklo [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:24:58 AM  
Pretty sure this guy was there 20 years ago. I wonder if he ever made it to the gym in time?

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Denjiro
2023-02-01 9:26:30 AM  

Walker: "I was there"
[cdn.vox-cdn.com image 850x478]


Well yeah, he was the only survivor.
 
powtard
2023-02-01 9:26:49 AM  
Damn, 20 years ago today I was getting an MRI on my torn ACL, and following along on Fark in the waiting room.  Damn I'm old.
 
GentDirkly
2023-02-01 9:27:00 AM  
Well behaved thread, relatively speaking.
I wasn't on Fark that day.  I had a Saturday class that was off campus and got a ride from another guy.  They came on the radio and said "contact was lost with Columbia, it was supposed to land, it didnt land.  This was only 5 or 10 minutes after the fact.  I know rockets but lack emotional intelligence and I blurted out, "They're all dead."  The guy driving me got mad at me and insisted, "the radio would say they are dead if they were dead.  You don't know.  They could be taking one more orbit." I was upset too.  Fortunately this was the moment he was dropping me off anyways so I just said, "I hope you're right" and got out.  Even though I knew I was right.
 
damageddude [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:28:21 AM  
My wife's great and uncle were hosting a family dinner that day and we got there first as my wife was going to make something for the meal. When we got there the aunt was upset because she couldnt reach her cousin at his nursing home. I told her he was probably in the common room watching coverage of the shuttle disaster and she gave me a look of shock. That was when i realized that neither the TV or radio were on. Only time i ever heard that southern woman curse
 
Glockenspiel Hero [OhFark]
2023-02-01 9:28:30 AM  
For a great article on this, see the Ars Technica writeup on what it would have taken for NASA to pull off a rescue mission

In short: the Columba astronauts would have had a very boring month of doing literally as little as possible to conserve the CO2 scrubbers while tons of people on the ground frantically tried to compress 6 months of work into 1.

The worst part?  Trying to figure out how to get spacesuits onto the last 2 Columbia astronauts without anyone unsuited helping them. TFA's quote: "Though none would speak on record, the consensus is that it would involve what was universally categorized as an extremely high degree of difficulty."
 
steklo [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:30:17 AM  
20 years of Fark. Enjoy Socpup's artwork here

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Origin_of_the_Feces
2023-02-01 9:30:56 AM  

MythDragon: Well it's not like they had many options. It was
Stay in orbit and die
Come back to Earth and maybe die.

The Shuttle had what, maybe 2 or so weeks of operational time? Don't see NASA getting a rescue up in that window.


Could they have docked with the ISS and maybe waited for a rescue flight? I know it would have been difficult for several reasons, but it's better than exploding astronauts.
 
elaw [BareFark]
2023-02-01 9:31:08 AM  
OT of course but I was listening to the launch the day of the Challenger disaster.  As always, every few seconds they'd say something about the status of the launch... until they didn't. I remember thinking the longer the silence was, the worse the problem.  The silence was long.
 
bigdog1960
2023-02-01 9:34:37 AM  
Wasn't on fark. My kids and I watched it from my front yard. We had seen at least one other mission previously streak across the texas sky. This one was different.
 
deadromanoff
2023-02-01 9:35:44 AM  
I was driving from Tucson to Las Vegas that morning. Had I looked over my right shoulder I might have seen  the debris trails.

Oh well.... Anyway.
 
puffy999 [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:36:42 AM  

steklo: 20 years of Fark. Enjoy Socpup's artwork here

[Fark user image 850x539]


The chairs should be slatted
 
AuralArgument
2023-02-01 9:37:01 AM  
Farkonaut:

When they mentioned it in the news, I told my parents that yeah, those astronauts are dead already and know it.

I was then told I'm too young to be that cynical and pessimistic ( 24)

I got a very grim ' told ya so' moment.
 
brigid_fitch [BareFark]
2023-02-01 9:37:41 AM  

Origin_of_the_Feces: MythDragon: Well it's not like they had many options. It was
Stay in orbit and die
Come back to Earth and maybe die.

The Shuttle had what, maybe 2 or so weeks of operational time? Don't see NASA getting a rescue up in that window.

Could they have docked with the ISS and maybe waited for a rescue flight? I know it would have been difficult for several reasons, but it's better than exploding astronauts.


IIRC, the ISS was on a completely different orbit and the shuttle didn't have the fuel to get there.
 
steklo [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:38:10 AM  

puffy999: The chairs should be slatted


and at least one of them knocked down...

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Akuinnen
2023-02-01 9:39:07 AM  
Here's the main thread:

https://www.fark.com/comments/425646/Space-shuttle-Columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry-All-aboard-killed-This-link-is-a-CNN-backdoor-works
 
AuralArgument
2023-02-01 9:40:37 AM  

steklo: Pretty sure this guy was there 20 years ago. I wonder if he ever made it to the gym in time?

[Fark user image image 400x598]


Who else rembers their tribute remix song to this disaster?
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Katwang
2023-02-01 9:41:52 AM  
I had no classes that day so my dad and I watched it on tv.

Fast forward 20 years and Jeff Bezos could've saved the day with his Phallic One space delivery system.
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:42:58 AM  
Wasn't quite on Fark yet for this one. I lived in Tyler, TX (about 100 miles east of Dallas) at the time and was woken by the boom. Mrs. cfreak thought someone had driven into the apartment building and I thought it was just thunder until I realized it was a sunny day.

A friend called me a few minutes later telling me "the shuttle blew up in Tyler"
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:46:09 AM  

Origin_of_the_Feces: MythDragon: Well it's not like they had many options. It was
Stay in orbit and die
Come back to Earth and maybe die.

The Shuttle had what, maybe 2 or so weeks of operational time? Don't see NASA getting a rescue up in that window.

Could they have docked with the ISS and maybe waited for a rescue flight? I know it would have been difficult for several reasons, but it's better than exploding astronauts.


IIRC - the shuttle was in a different orbit for this mission and didn't have the fuel required to boost itself to the ISS.
 
AuralArgument
2023-02-01 9:47:40 AM  
cfreak:

" is the high school's football stadium alright?, What I mean is spring work outs start extremely soon and the boys need the Feild, we can't have NASA shutting down the Feild picking up debris". - some guy in a local Tyler.coffee shop.
 
RoughTrickNamedJim [BareFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-01 9:48:13 AM  
Pre-Fark for me but I can't believe it was 20 years ago. Went home for the weekend from college to the Houston area. Beautiful cool crisp morning. I do remember seeing the debris show up on weather radar up north near Nacogdoches.
 
Auntie Cheesus [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-01 9:48:17 AM  
At the time, my daughter and I were living in the Dallas area.  Knowing the shuttle was to come across the sky and was going to be visible, we took our binoculars out to the balcony of our apartment to watch...

...as pieces started to fall away.

We went back inside.  I sent an IM to the guy I was dating at the time and told him what we witnessed.  He told me he immediately turned on CNN, and they were talking about the lack of radio contact from Columbia.  My daughter turned our TV to the local CBS station, which then broke in with a special report of the apparent loss of Columbia and footage filmed by a camera crew from the roof of the building the studios were in.
 
TofuTheAlmighty [BareFark]
2023-02-01 9:49:37 AM  
I was interviewing along with fellow recruits for grad school at Hopkins. We were waiting at the hotel to start interview day when the news came on.

Also, oblig:

sprott.physics.wisc.eduView Full Size
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:51:38 AM  

AuralArgument: cfreak:

" is the high school's football stadium alright?, What I mean is spring work outs start extremely soon and the boys need the Feild, we can't have NASA shutting down the Feild picking up debris". - some guy in a local Tyler.coffee shop.


That is completely unsurprising.
 
AuralArgument
2023-02-01 9:52:05 AM  
Hypothetical

Let's say all the crew knew they were dead either way.

Could they have pointed the shuttle in a direction and had enough fuel to get slung out of orbit and eventually out of the solar system.

Because wouldn't a vehicle like the shuttle and bodies be a perfect message to whatever is out there about where we are in terms of technology?
 
wxboy
2023-02-01 9:53:07 AM  

cfreak: Origin_of_the_Feces: MythDragon: Well it's not like they had many options. It was
Stay in orbit and die
Come back to Earth and maybe die.

The Shuttle had what, maybe 2 or so weeks of operational time? Don't see NASA getting a rescue up in that window.

Could they have docked with the ISS and maybe waited for a rescue flight? I know it would have been difficult for several reasons, but it's better than exploding astronauts.

IIRC - the shuttle was in a different orbit for this mission and didn't have the fuel required to boost itself to the ISS.


This is the case. It's also why, afterwards, only one shuttle mission didn't go to the ISS; that one was the last service mission to Hubble. NASA had a backup shuttle ready for expedited launch as a rescue mission if it were needed. Otherwise, the plan for TPS damage issues was just for the astronauts to stay at the ISS until the next planned shuttle launch could be advanced forward as quickly as possible to retrieve them.

They also would have tried landing the damaged shuttle entirely remotely.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-3xx
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:53:47 AM  
Another CSB:

My current neighbor in the Dallas area was a medical doctor before he retired. In 2003 he worked for the feds in accident investigations and helped recover the bodies :(

I guess that's more "Sad Story Bro"
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 9:57:16 AM  

wxboy: cfreak: Origin_of_the_Feces: MythDragon: Well it's not like they had many options. It was
Stay in orbit and die
Come back to Earth and maybe die.

The Shuttle had what, maybe 2 or so weeks of operational time? Don't see NASA getting a rescue up in that window.

Could they have docked with the ISS and maybe waited for a rescue flight? I know it would have been difficult for several reasons, but it's better than exploding astronauts.

IIRC - the shuttle was in a different orbit for this mission and didn't have the fuel required to boost itself to the ISS.

This is the case. It's also why, afterwards, only one shuttle mission didn't go to the ISS; that one was the last service mission to Hubble. NASA had a backup shuttle ready for expedited launch as a rescue mission if it were needed. Otherwise, the plan for TPS damage issues was just for the astronauts to stay at the ISS until the next planned shuttle launch could be advanced forward as quickly as possible to retrieve them.

They also would have tried landing the damaged shuttle entirely remotely.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-3xx


I have vague memories of that. There were shots of two shuttles on pads at Kennedy. I believe that's the only time that happened.

Pretty amazing that only 20 years later they probably could have gotten a Dragon up there on short notice.
 
Fark-N-Noodle [OhFark]
2023-02-01 9:57:49 AM  

cfreak: Wasn't quite on Fark yet for this one. I lived in Tyler, TX (about 100 miles east of Dallas) at the time and was woken by the boom. Mrs. cfreak thought someone had driven into the apartment building and I thought it was just thunder until I realized it was a sunny day.

A friend called me a few minutes later telling me "the shuttle blew up in Tyler"


I was driving from Grapevine to Longview that day, saw it streaking across the sky along I-20, what a day
 
assjuice
2023-02-01 10:03:10 AM  
Who is the fb- douche breathlessly posting updates about these deaths, and with tacky exclamation points?
 
Jairzinho
2023-02-01 10:04:01 AM  

Origin_of_the_Feces: MythDragon: Well it's not like they had many options. It was
Stay in orbit and die
Come back to Earth and maybe die.

The Shuttle had what, maybe 2 or so weeks of operational time? Don't see NASA getting a rescue up in that window.

Could they have docked with the ISS and maybe waited for a rescue flight? I know it would have been difficult for several reasons, but it's better than exploding astronauts.


Orbits (direction and altitude were quite different). It'd have been impossible with the amount of fuel available to achieve that.

Once a vehicle is launched to space, it basically commits given its place of launch, launch trajectory and time to a specific orbit. We don't have the capabilities to change that after launch yet.
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 10:04:22 AM  

Fark-N-Noodle: cfreak: Wasn't quite on Fark yet for this one. I lived in Tyler, TX (about 100 miles east of Dallas) at the time and was woken by the boom. Mrs. cfreak thought someone had driven into the apartment building and I thought it was just thunder until I realized it was a sunny day.

A friend called me a few minutes later telling me "the shuttle blew up in Tyler"

I was driving from Grapevine to Longview that day, saw it streaking across the sky along I-20, what a day


That's a horrible day. You witnessed a disaster and you went to Longview. I'm not sure which part is worse.
 
stuhayes2010
2023-02-01 10:04:30 AM  
20 years ago today I had a college professor blame "towel heads" for the Columbia.
 
PsychoSanta
2023-02-01 10:04:54 AM  
     I was here.
 
wildcardjack
2023-02-01 10:05:14 AM  
I was in Tyler and thought my downstairs neighbor had gotten really loud about his TV theater sound system.
 
Recoil Therapy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-01 10:05:34 AM  

deadromanoff: I was driving from Tucson to Las Vegas that morning. Had I looked over my right shoulder I might have seen  the debris trails.

Oh well.... Anyway.


I was online following along here and there (Fark would still have been in lurker status).  I'll never forget a Dallas station's weather radar as the debris field drifted down.

/20 years already, wow
 
Ambitwistor [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 10:06:25 AM  

cfreak: Fark-N-Noodle: I was driving from Grapevine to Longview that day, saw it streaking across the sky along I-20, what a day

That's a horrible day. You witnessed a disaster and you went to Longview.


But you repeat yourself.
 
New Farkin User Name
2023-02-01 10:07:32 AM  

AuralArgument: Hypothetical

Let's say all the crew knew they were dead either way.

Could they have pointed the shuttle in a direction and had enough fuel to get slung out of orbit and eventually out of the solar system.

Because wouldn't a vehicle like the shuttle and bodies be a perfect message to whatever is out there about where we are in terms of technology?


Not even close
 
qlenfg
2023-02-01 10:08:39 AM  
Wife and I went to Saturday breakfast with the motorcycle buddies, but drove the car as she is cold-natured. We would normally hang out in the parking lot and BS for an hour or so, but she was cold and wanted to go home. As we were headed west, we heard the boom, but assumed it was a sonic boom from a military plane. Had we been standing in the parking lot, we would have seen / heard it.

Prior to the accident, I was speaking with a friend, who is a geology professor, about the earthquake / explosion sensors out west. I asked him if they could be used to detect the shuttle explosion, and he was able to mine that data and come up with some timing. Other folks took a look at the weather radar and could see the debris signature going across the sky. Other friends went out west to help search for debris.
 
Sawdust and Mildew [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 10:08:43 AM  

Pert: Weirdly, I distinctly remember the Challenger disaster from when I was a kid, but would have sworn that was the only shuttle disaster.



I was only 6 when the Challenger exploded and I remember 24-7 TV and radio coverage for what seemed like months. Columbia was old news by the following week. The Quite-A-Lot-Of-Information Age was shaping into what it is now.
 
Sawdust and Mildew [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 10:09:26 AM  

assjuice: Who is the fb- douche breathlessly posting updates about these deaths, and with tacky exclamation points?


All I remember is that he's not the father.
 
steklo [TotalFark]
2023-02-01 10:10:18 AM  

AuralArgument: Who else rembers their tribute remix song to this disaster?


oh nice....but it would be better if they smeared mustard around

Fark user imageView Full Size



Seriously when I first joined Fark over 20 years ago. This photo was everywhere. I even printed a copy on the office's brand new color copier and posted it on my cube wall and one for the fridge at home.

WIfe is like, "What is this?"

"Mustard Man"

"Why on earth?"

"Don't ask, it's a Fark thing"
 
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