Ten years after the fact, it has come out that the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) knew that the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia was damaged in orbit, but chose not to tell the astronauts.
Wayne Hale, who later became space shuttle program manager, struggled with this question after the deaths of the Columbia crew 10 years ago. Recently he wrote about the debate in his blog, recalling a meeting to discuss the dilemma:
“After one of the MMTs (Mission Management Team) when possible damage to the orbiter was discussed, he (Flight Director Jon Harpold) gave me his opinion: ‘You know, there is nothing we can do about damage to the TPS (Thermal Protection System). If it has been damaged it’s probably better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don’t you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done, until the air ran out?”
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"Don’t you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done, until the air ran out?”
ReplyDeleteTough position to be in.
I would want to know to tell my family and friends good bye.
DeleteGood point.
DeleteQuote from above: ‘You know, there is nothing we can do about damage to the TPS (Thermal Protection System). If it has been damaged it’s probably better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don’t you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done, until the air ran out?”
ReplyDeleteHell no. The crew-members are all adults. They are highly trained professonals. They proved it by reaching the pinnacle of their career in the space program. Their lives and the well-being of their families were all involved in this episode. They should have been told. The crew, and the crew alone, should have been the ones making the final decisions, knowing full well the risks they would have been facing.
NASA leadership proved they did not have the ability to lead. I do not ever want to be led by anyone like Jon Harpold.
Although government efforts led the way into space, the institutionalized defects, lack of vision and lack of leadership will continue as long as government is in sole charge of space exploration. I would like to think that private industry will be a better option; however, after corporations reach a certain size, their culture mirrors the government mindset very closely.
I would hate to see space exploration cease.
institutionalized defects, lack of vision and lack of leadership will continue as long as government is in sole charge of
Deleteanything unfortunately.
Decades ago, I was at a NASA symposium where the development of a 'space Bondo' was discussed. This was to have been a foamy substance that could have been used to patch holes in orbit to prevent such a catastrophe as the Columbia. It would have required a bit of extra training pre-flight, and then EVA to squirt it into the holes, but it was presented as the only realistic 'fix' possible.
ReplyDeleteSince every single stinking one of those damned tiles was individually-shaped, carrying spares was flatly impossible. It had been anticipated that some of them might fall off during lift-off, and at least some people were worried that these lost tiles might indeed be covering important things, like fuel lines. Hence the need for a patch to plug tile holes, good for a single re-entry, and applicable in orbit.
I can't help but wonder what happened to that idea.
Of course, that was back when we actually pretended to have a space program, and not a(nother) Muslim Self-Esteem Building division of the government.