February 2003 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Fwd: Help: Star Party at Soldier Hollow
by Richard Tenney 15 Feb '03

15 Feb '03

Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day http://shopping.yahoo.com

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New STS spreadsheet
by Patrick Wiggins 14 Feb '03

14 Feb '03

A few days ago someone asked about where one could go to get information on each of the shuttle missions. I referred them to a couple of links on my web site but after doing so I got to thinking that the way NASA presents the information is very thorough but maybe a little awkward when trying to get info on all flights at the same time. So, I've spent the past few nights putting together an Excell spreadsheet with basic data on each of the flights. I'd appreciate it if a few of you fellow space geeks out there could download the spreadsheet and have a look at it and then let me know what else I might add before I put it on my web site. You'll find it at: http://planet.state.ut.us/files/STSFLIGHTS.XLS Thanks, Patrick

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107 Misha Report #3
by Patrick Wiggins 14 Feb '03

14 Feb '03

STS-107 Mishap Response Status Report #3 Thursday, Feb. 13, 2003 - 7 p.m. CST The Columbia Accident Investigation Board said today preliminary analysis by a NASA working group indicates the temperature indications seen in Columbia's left wheel well during entry would require the presence of plasma. Plasma is a super heated gas surrounding the orbiter during re-entry. The CAIB said heat transfer through the structure, as from a missing tile, would not be sufficient to cause the temperature indications seen in the last minutes of flight. Additional analysis is under way, looking at various scenarios in which a breach of some type could occur, allowing plasma into the wheel well area or elsewhere in the wing. Other flight data, including landing gear position indicators and drag information, indicate it is unlikely the left landing gear was deployed early, the CAIB said. The search continues in the western United States for debris from Columbia. As of early Thursday, no debris found farther west than Granbury, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, had been confirmed as Shuttle-related. The first two trucks containing debris from Columbia arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. Wednesday morning. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported today the Shuttle debris recovery operation is proceeding well. FEMA said 72 percent of sites in Texas and 84 percent of sites in Louisiana have been cleared. The Environmental Protection Agency has 42 teams conducting operations in five Texas counties. Searches are focused on large structural items, and a plan is being developed to support expanded searches in areas where NASA-identified critical items have been found. The Civil Air Patrol is expanding operations west of Fort Worth, and negotiations are under way to bring in a blimp to help search in the area from Fort Worth east to Palestine, Texas. The Navy is taking control of water operations, with dive teams and equipment arriving today. Searches will focus first on the Toledo Bend Reservoir and then turn to other lakes in the affected area. The CAIB spent its second day visiting KSC. The trip's purpose is to familiarize members with operations at the center from which Columbia was launched Jan. 16. On Friday the board is scheduled to visit the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala. On Saturday members are scheduled to visit the Michoud, La., facility near New Orleans where Shuttle external tanks are fabricated, before returning to Houston Saturday night.

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Columbia image
by Bruce James 14 Feb '03

14 Feb '03

CNN is reporting that this photo was snapped through a 3 1/2 inch commercially available telescope: http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/12/shuttle.photo.ap/index.html Bruce A. James Programmer/Analyst BruceJ(a)eXegeSys.com http://www.eXegeSys.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] > Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 11:31 PM > To: utah astronomy listserve > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Columbia image > > > This image is a view of the underside of Columbia during its > entry from mission > STS-107 on Feb. 1, 2003, as it passed by the Starfire Optical > Range, Directed > Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland > Air Force Base, N. > M. The image was taken at approximately 7:57 a.m. CST (1357 > GMT). This image was > received by NASA as part of the Columbia accident > investigation and is being analyzed. > > http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/COL_image_030207.html > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy >

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Nasa called
by Wayne Reese 14 Feb '03

14 Feb '03

I should have mentioned on my last reply that this Justin Wilkinson said he would put down St. George s the location although I tried to be more precise the said that was close enough. Wayne At 11:55 AM 2/14/03 -0800, you wrote: > Joe > >Last Thursday I got an email from a Philip Metzger from NASA. I thought I >read the opening statement like this. Hello, I am Philip Metzger. I am a >psychologist for NASA I thought Oh No! They think I am a wacko. Then I >sunk in despair because I wasnt sure I could convince them >otherwise. Then I went back and reread the email and he said, I am a >physicist for NASA. Sheew, that was close. > >Mr. Metzger was interested in getting more information about the Columbia >photos we have been talking about. I emailed him back (quite relieved he >wasnt a psychologist) and gave him my work and home phone numbers. > >This is Friday and he just called me at home. Mr. Metzger had been looking >at the photographs posted on Patrick Wiggins web site: >http://planet.state.ut.us. He had not received the photos and the data I >had sent to Mr. Dittemore. He did say that he was scheduled to talk to Mr. >Dittemore soon. Coordinating all of the Columbia data must be a nightmare >at this point, but things are coming together. > >Mr. Metzger was very interested in the additional information such as what >was the angle of the camera, were was the orbiter relative to our >position, what was our position, what time was the picture taken, etc. > >I didnt get a chance to ask him a lot of question. I did mention as Brent >Watson had pointed out to me that there are stars in the photographs that >he could use to take a fixon. > >I am guessing from the questions that he is trying to calculate possible >landing locations of the debris that may have been associated with the >even we all saw. > >Jim > > > >Do you Yahoo!?

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Nasa called
by Wayne Reese 14 Feb '03

14 Feb '03

I got an e-mail from the same man. Today I got a call from a Justin Wilkenson asking more about location. I hope it helps. Wayne At 11:55 AM 2/14/03 -0800, you wrote: > Joe > >Last Thursday I got an email from a Philip Metzger from NASA. I thought I >read the opening statement like this. Hello, I am Philip Metzger. I am a >psychologist for NASA I thought Oh No! They think I am a wacko. Then I >sunk in despair because I wasnt sure I could convince them >otherwise. Then I went back and reread the email and he said, I am a >physicist for NASA. Sheew, that was close. > >Mr. Metzger was interested in getting more information about the Columbia >photos we have been talking about. I emailed him back (quite relieved he >wasnt a psychologist) and gave him my work and home phone numbers. > >This is Friday and he just called me at home. Mr. Metzger had been looking >at the photographs posted on Patrick Wiggins web site: >http://planet.state.ut.us. He had not received the photos and the data I >had sent to Mr. Dittemore. He did say that he was scheduled to talk to Mr. >Dittemore soon. Coordinating all of the Columbia data must be a nightmare >at this point, but things are coming together. > >Mr. Metzger was very interested in the additional information such as what >was the angle of the camera, were was the orbiter relative to our >position, what was our position, what time was the picture taken, etc. > >I didnt get a chance to ask him a lot of question. I did mention as Brent >Watson had pointed out to me that there are stars in the photographs that >he could use to take a fixon. > >I am guessing from the questions that he is trying to calculate possible >landing locations of the debris that may have been associated with the >even we all saw. > >Jim > > > >Do you Yahoo!?

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] Nasa called
by Joe Bauman 14 Feb '03

14 Feb '03

Sounds great! I'm glad it wasn't a psychologist! Please let me know if you hear anything more. -- Joe Joe Bauman science & military reporter Deseret News bau(a)desnews.com (801) 237-2169

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Hot Plasma Possible in Columbia Left Wheel Well Area
by Patrick Wiggins 14 Feb '03

14 Feb '03

STATEMENT BY THE COLUMBIA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BOARD (Feb. 13, 2003) Note: The CAIB has asked NASA for administrative support to release information to the public and the media. The following statement was provided by the CAIB for release. Thermal Analysis Shows Hot Plasma Possible in Columbia Left Wheel Well Area Preliminary analysis by a NASA working group this week indicates that the temperature indications seen in Columbia's left wheel well during entry would require the presence of plasma (super heated gas surrounding the orbiter during re- entry). Heat transfer through the structure as from a missing tile would not be sufficient to cause the temperature indications seen in the last minutes of flight. Additional analysis is underway, looking at various scenarios in which a breach of some type, allowing plasma into the wheel well area or elsewhere in the wing, could occur. Other flight data including gear position indicators and drag information does not support the scenario of an early deployment of the left gear. The search continues for possible debris from Columbia in the western U.S., but as of early Thursday, no debris further west than Ft. Worth, Texas has been confirmed as Shuttle- related. Patrick -- Patrick Wiggins NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah http://planet.state.ut.us 435.882.1209 (observatory) 801.918.9092 (cell)

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Remains identified
by Patrick Wiggins 13 Feb '03

13 Feb '03

The remains of all seven members of Space Shuttle Columbia's crew have been positively identified at Dover Air Force Base, Del. "We are comforted by the knowledge we have brought our seven friends home," said Bob Cabana, Director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center. "We are deeply indebted to the communities and volunteers who made this homecoming possible, and brought peace of mind to the crew's families, and the entire NASA family," he said. The seven astronauts, Rick Husband (Colonel, USAF), Willie McCool (Commander, USN), Michael Anderson (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF), David Brown (Captain, USN), Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark (Commander, USN), and Ilan Ramon (Colonel, Israel Air Force), died Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up over the southwest United States. Private memorial services for the crewmembers will take place within the next few weeks. Burial services for Ilan Ramon took place February 11 in Israel.

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107 Mishap report 2
by Patrick Wiggins 13 Feb '03

13 Feb '03

STS-107 Mishap Response Status Report #2 Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003 - 2 p.m. CST Two trucks containing debris from the space shuttle Columbia arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) this morning. They were the first bringing debris from Barksdale AFB near Shreveport, La., to KSC where investigators will lay them out, about as they were positioned on Columbia. Members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) arrived at KSC about 11 a.m. EST today. The group toured facilities, including the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2, housing the Shuttle Endeavour, and Bay 3, where Discovery is undergoing maintenance. The CAIB also visited the Vehicle Assembly Building where Shuttle Atlantis, with its external tank and solid rocket boosters, is atop its mobile launch platform. The CAIB met at intervals throughout the day with KSC officials to get an overview of ground processing activities. On Thursday the board is scheduled to visit the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Disassembly Facility and tour the SRB assembly and refurbishment facilities. Members also will visit the Launch Control Center and Launch Pad 39A, where Columbia was launched. Retired Navy Admiral Harold Gehman, CAIB chairman, spoke briefly with news media representatives. He said the CAIB wants to look at four things at KSC: launch procedures; Shuttle refurbishment between flights; the Columbia mishap reconstruction site; "and be sure in our own minds the process here for Columbia reconstruction meets our investigatory needs." The efforts will take place in the Reusable Launch Vehicle Hangar located adjacent to the Space Shuttle runway at KSC. Gehman described the trip to KSC as an orientation visit. He said the CAIB would return to KSC a number of times during the investigation. The CAIB is scheduled to travel to Huntsville, Ala., and then New Orleans before returning to Houston Saturday night. Gehman said Sunday would be a workday, and that the board would be working seven- or six-day weeks "from now on." More than 2,500 federal, state and local employees continued to search for Columbia debris in Texas and Louisiana today. Officials say they have the resources to cover every body of water in the debris trail within 5 weeks. While teams continue to investigate reports of debris as far west as California, no confirmed pieces of debris from Columbia have been found west of the Fort Worth, Texas area. Hundreds of items continue to be collected from areas in eastern Texas and western Louisiana. Several hundred items were shipped in the past 24 hours to Barksdale from locations in Lufkin, Nacogdoches and Hemphill, Texas. The International Space Station's Expedition 6 crew, Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA Station Science Officer Don Pettit, took time Wednesday for interviews with CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC representatives. They talked about their shock and grief after being told the morning of Feb. 1 by Johnson Space Center Director Jefferson D. Howell Jr. of the loss of Columbia, and their willingness to remain aboard the ISS as long as necessary. For more information about NASA on the Internet, see: www.nasa.gov <http://www.nasa.gov>

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