Page 24 - 200303 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2003

24 Tile Not Cause of Tragedy 24 Tile Not Cause of Tragedy The loss of a thermal protection minutes before scheduled landing, three wing. tile couldn’t cause catastrophe of undercarriage sensors in the shuttle’s hull Israel’s Air Force command is the shuttle. Something different registered a sudden temperature rise. A considering the possibility of posthumous occurred on Columbia’s board. NASA spokesman says, “it was the first raising the rank of Colonel Ilan Ramon warning of some troubles on board the perished in the Columbia catastrophe. As What could it be? shuttle.” BBC reports, the rank of colonel was At 4:53 p.m. Moscow time, the conferred to Ramon seven years ago, he shuttle Columbia was over California, the would have been obligatorily conferred fourth sensor registered a temperature rise the rank of a brigadier general after his of 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit in the left return from the orbit. A final decision on undercarriage. In two minutes (4:55 p.m.) raising the rank of Ilan Ramon will be the fifth sensor also registered ataken after official recognition of the temperature rise. Temperature sensitive colonel as perished. elements of the left wing’s upper and So, it is not clear yet what was the lower covering failed when the shuttle true cause of the US shuttle’s catastrophe was over Arizona and New Mexico at just 16 minutes before scheduled landing. 4:57 p.m. At 4:59 p.m. Moscow time, All possible variants of the tragedy and when Columbia was over eastern Texas, all versions are to be considered to find Feb 4, 2003 - Pravda: Today the airborne computer responded to the out the cause. As Russian radio Golos George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush shuttle list to the left and gave a command Rossii (Russia’s Voice) stated: “One thing will participate in a ceremony dedicated to the right maneuvering engine to start is for sure: space exploration won’t be to memory of perished Columbia for a couple of seconds to straighten the stopped no matter how hard human losses astronauts. The ceremony will start at shuttle out. Soon after that are.” 9:00 p.m. Moscow time and will be communication with the shuttle was lost. broadcast by all central American TV On the whole, it will take NASA channels. The event is to take place at one more day to obtain all information NASA’s Lincoln Space Center in concerning the shuttle’s catastrophe. At Houston, right at the place where an present, searches of the shuttle’s debris analogous ceremony was held in 1986 still continue. Specialists say it is unlikely when Challenger shuttle exploded at a that the thermal tile that was damaged take-off. The president and his wife will with the thermo-insulation at the take-off meet with families of the perished will be found. According to the recent Russian astronaut Yury Gidzenko, astronauts. information, about 12 thousand of member of the first crew of the Yesterday, NASA shuttle program different debris of the shuttle have been International Space Station, knew the manager Ron Dittemore held a press- already found; searches for more astronauts killed by the Columbia conference at the NASA Mission wreckage is carried out on the territory of explosion. He said in an exclusive Control. As Russia’s news agency RIA 28 thousand square miles and delivered to interview to the Russian radio station: “I Novosti reports, Dittemore said that “it the Barksdale Air Force Base in grieve over the perished astronauts like couldn’t be because of the loss of a Louisiana. Experts will try to reconstruct all Russian cosmonauts. The Columbia thermal protection tile” that temperature the shuttle in order to find out the cause of demise is a tragedy not only for the USA, on board the shuttle suddenly rose before the catastrophe. Fragments of bodies of but also for Russia. I knew personally the catastrophe. all of the seven astronauts have been four of the perished. I meet with all of The temperature rise registered in already recovered. them in NASA. When I got back from the the undercarriage trunk and in shuttle’s Meanwhile, as Britain’s Guardian International Space Station in March left wing before the catastrophe made up reports today, the NASA leadership was 2001, I was delivered to the Earth in a 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit. Ron Dittemore informed two days before the catastrophe shuttle as well.” says that if the hull of the shuttle was that a thermal tile protecting the shuttle In the words of Yury Gidzenko, broken, the temperature would have been from thermal overload was seriously Russian astronauts say that shuttles of this much higher; at landing a shuttle is damaged. The newspaper writes, one of construction are good, they are very wrapped in plasma and the temperature NASA engineers informed that a 76-to-19 convenient for the crew. makes up 2000 degrees Fahrenheit centimeter section of the tile on the left Press-secretary of the Russian overboard. He says, the cause of the wing was damaged. And the edition Aerospace Agency, Vyacheslav catastrophe was something different. wonders if anything could be done in this Mikhailichenko is sure that cooperation Thus, the temperature rise inside connection to avert a catastrophe. of both countries will continue: the shuttle is just an evidence of some As Russia’s news agency RBC “Specialists must count up everything and problem on its board. Experts cannot say informs, NASA still insist on the main check the plans for errors. Everything can so far what kind of problem this may be. version of the Columbia catastrophe be restored. I am perfectly sure that Dittemore says it is not ruled out that this saying that the accident occurred because Russia-America space cooperation will problem will never be identified. of a damaged thermal tile of the shuttle’s continue.” [End] Besides, new, more precise data upholstery. Now specialists are trying to concerning what was going on the shuttle estimate the injury caused by a part of the Send us your story of the strange, the before the catastrophe were reported at thermal protection system damaged at the bizarre, the paranormal! Our e-mail the press-conference. start and dropped into the shuttle’s left address is xchronicles@xzone-radio.com - At 4:52 p.m. Moscow time, 24 Join the ‘X’ REVOLUTION