Houston
Critics this week said NASA’s “can-do” atmosphere caused administrators to discount the possibility that the space shuttle Columbia was in danger. The space agency released e-mails between experts who speculated before the shuttle broke apart, killing seven astronauts, that the craft might have been fatally damaged by loose debris at launch. Top officials rejected gloomy assessments “like the plague,” one engineer said, and focused on a study concluding that the debris was just foam insulation. An engineer warned that the debris might have contained ice, striking like “a 500-pound safe hitting the wing at 365 mph.” That would have stripped off heat shields, making re-entry into the atmosphere catastrophic. In the e-mail exchange, one engineer said that scenario would result in the loss of the shuttle and the crew, “so we’ll skip it.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
