armhold@topaz.rutgers.edu (George Armhold) (01/09/89)
While driving to work yesterday morning, I heard on the radio that cracks were found in the main engines of the Atlantis shuttle. Supposedly they were serious enough to possibly cause the shuttle to explode during its last mission. After this brief report on the radio, I haven't heard another thing about it! None of the papers said anything about it, neither did the news on television that night. Could someone please elaborate on what happened and possibly offer a reason as to why the media has ignored it? -GEA
klr@hadron.UUCP (Kurt L. Reisler) (01/09/89)
In article <Jan.9.00.12.57.1989.9104@topaz.rutgers.edu> armhold@topaz.rutgers.edu (George Armhold) writes: > > While driving to work yesterday morning, I heard on the radio >that cracks were found in the main engines of the Atlantis shuttle. I had heard that these were supposedly cracks in a high speed (oxygen?) turbine. Have not seen this weeks AW&ST and have heard nothing further on the problem.
erict@flatline.UUCP (The Evil Mel Fujitsu) (01/10/89)
First, let me state that I have absolutely no idea whether the information regarding cracks in the Atlantis main engines is substantiated by any facts. I'd also be interested in knowing what station (and network) reported this news. In article <Jan.9.00.12.57.1989.9104@topaz.rutgers.edu>, armhold@topaz.rutgers.edu (George Armhold) writes: > While driving to work yesterday morning, I heard on the radio > that cracks were found in the main engines of the Atlantis shuttle. > Supposedly they were serious enough to possibly cause the shuttle to > explode during its last mission. After this brief report on the radio, > I haven't heard another thing about it! None of the papers said > anything about it, neither did the news on television that night. > Could someone please elaborate on what happened and possibly offer a > reason as to why the media has ignored it? A few reasons come to mind: 1. It wasn't true. Simple and to the point. A source misinformed the news agency. 2. NASA did a fast cover-up, making it impossible for other news agencies to confirm or deny the claim made by the radio station. I, as a news editor, would not like the responsibility of reporting unsubstantiated news -- especially when the US Gov't is teamed with NASA to restrict my access to information. Libel suits are far too damaging, making life tough for reform journalists (like myself) who want to fight the government tooth and nail for information. 3. More "important" news was going on while the Atlantis story was still fresh. There's only x minutes of time for news, and most news is selected for publication based on the size of the audience interested in the news. "If it bleeds, it leads." is the motto of most broadcast journalism, unfortunately. I suggest, if you want to know some good and hard facts, checking the _New York Times_, _Washington Post_, _Houston Post_ and _Houston Chronical_ archives for information related to the story. (I list the two Houston papers because we have NASA only 30 miles away and the shuttle is *very* important to local economy.) -- while !working { Skate(||) }; J. Eric Townsend -- smail: 511 Parker #2, Houston, Tx, 77007 UUCP: uunet!sugar!flatline!erict | EastEnders Mailing List(!): ..!bellcore!texbell!/ | eastender@flatline.UUCP
pcp2g@bessel.acc.Virginia.EDU (Philip C. Plait) (01/10/89)
>In article <Jan.9.00.12.57.1989.9104@topaz.rutgers.edu>, armhold@topaz.rutgers.edu (George Armhold) writes:
While driving to work yesterday morning, I heard on the radio
that cracks were found in the main engines of the Atlantis shuttle.
Supposedly they were serious enough to possibly cause the shuttle to
explode during its last mission. After this brief report on the radio,
I haven't heard another thing about it! None of the papers said
anything about it, neither did the news on television that night.
Could someone please elaborate on what happened and possibly offer a
reason as to why the media has ignored it?
I also heard about this. I caught the last three seconds or so of a news
broadcast and heard Tom Brokaw (yes, it was on NATIONAL news) saying
something about possible delays of flights. What gives?
* Phil Plait PCP2G@bessel.acc.virginia.EDU
* UVa Dept. of Astronomy Grad student (at large)
*
* "...but would you give a drowning man a glass of sand?"jmckerna@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (THE VIKING) (01/10/89)
In article <582@flatline.UUCP> erict@flatline.UUCP (The Evil Mel Fujitsu) writes: >First, let me state that I have absolutely no idea whether the information >regarding cracks in the Atlantis main engines is substantiated by any facts. I also heard the that the Atlantis turbo pumps had cracks. I heard it on KNXT news radio AM 980 in Southern California, a news station that is usually pretty reliable. If this is true, and I believe it is, then it is a very severe problem, one that could in the worst case ground the shuttle fleet for an extended period of costly modifications. As I understand it, the turbo pumps were built at or beyond the leading edge of the technology of their time, and have always been a major concern for the shuttle program. If anyone has some hard data on the Atlantis pump cracking problem, or just on the pumps in general, I'd like to hear it. John L. McKernan. Student, Computer Science, Cal Poly S.L.O. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ruslan@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Robin C. LaPasha) (01/10/89)
In article <1613@virginia.acc.virginia.edu>, pcp2g@bessel.acc.Virginia.EDU (Philip C. Plait) writes: > >In article <Jan.9.00.12.57.1989.9104@topaz.rutgers.edu>, armhold@topaz.rutgers.edu (George Armhold) writes: > While driving to work yesterday morning, I heard on the radio > that cracks were found in the main engines of the Atlantis shuttle. > [...] > I haven't heard another thing about it! None of the papers said > anything about it, neither did the news on television that night. > I also heard about this. I caught the last three seconds or so of a news > broadcast and heard Tom Brokaw (yes, it was on NATIONAL news) saying > something about possible delays of flights. What gives? > I heard (again, just the last few seconds) on National Public Radio (most likely All Things Considered, the evening broad- cast.) It did sound serious enough to warrant a followup (cracks... which could cause delays in the program...) but nothing since. Could somebody with an aerospace-type weekly magazine keep us posted? (Somebody suggested Wash. Post archives, but that seems like a massive task. Maybe if nothing further comes out for another week I'll attempt it ;^)) Robin LaPasha -- Robin LaPasha |"When there is no cat, ruslan@ecsvax.uncecs.edu |the mice dance the horo" - Bulgarian proverb
kerl@xenon.UUCP (Dan Kerl) (01/10/89)
Here is NASA's statement on the 'engine cracks', as found on the NASA MSFC Spacelink BBS... >12/20/88: STATEMENT ON STS-27 HPOTP BEARING CRACK > > >Analysis of engine performance data from STS-27 revealed a higher >vibration amplitude in the high pressure oxydizer turbopump on >Space Shuttle Main Engine number three than had been experienced >during acceptance testing. Subsequent boriscopic inspection of >the pump Saturday revealed an approximately .005-inch wide crack >in the inner race of one of four bearings in the turbopump. NASA >plans to remove the pump from the engine and return it to the >manufacturer, Rockwell International, Rocketdyne Division in >Canoga Park, Calif., for disassembly, inspection and analysis, to >determine the cause of the crack. The impact, if any, to the >scheduled February launch of STS-29 is not yet known. > > While this does appear to constitute a problem, I doubt that it was as serious as earlier postings on this subject would have lead me to believe. I would like to thank Peter for going to the trouble to download things from the Spacelink BBS to this group. Well Done! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan ('Never been photographed with Deacon E.L. Mouse') Kerl Intergraph Corp. phone: 205-772-6118 Internet: b11!xenon!kerl@ingr.com UUCP: uunet!ingr!b11!xenon!kerl USnail: M/S CR1105 One Madison Industrial Park Huntsville, AL 35807-4201 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
john@frog.UUCP (John Woods) (01/12/89)
In article <827@hadron.UUCP>, klr@hadron.UUCP (Kurt L. Reisler) writes: > In article <Jan.9.00.12.57.1989.9104@topaz.rutgers.edu> armhold@topaz.rutgers.edu (George Armhold) writes: > > While driving to work yesterday morning, I heard on the radio > >that cracks were found in the main engines of the Atlantis shuttle. > I had heard that these were supposedly cracks in a high speed (oxygen?) > turbine. Have not seen this weeks AW&ST and have heard nothing further > on the problem. From AW&ST, p 32, 9 Jan 89: "LAUNCH DATE for the next space shuttle mission was delayed to Feb. 23 by NASA last week due to minor processing delays at Kennedy Space Center. The orbiter Discovery is to be rolled to launch Pad 39B on Jan. 26, pending final review of both a crack in a main engine oxygen pump component and tile damage on the Atlantis launch Dec. 2." Maybe next week's will have an article about it. -- John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA, (508) 626-1101 ...!decvax!frog!john, john@frog.UUCP, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw@eddie.mit.edu Go be a `traves wasswort. - Doug Gwyn