slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (01/30/86)
I think we've all been deeply touched.
The paper today mentioned that people are being urged not to touch
possible debris from the Challanger. One of the reports was about
a "small green canister" that was supposed to be deadly. "You'd
be dead in about 2 seconds" if you touched it.
What the hell could that be? Or is it just media hype or a story
circulated to make sure people don't tamper with possible important
evidence?
--
Sue Brezden
ihnp4!drutx!slb
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To search for perfection is all very well,
But to look for heaven is to live here in hell.
--Sting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~rcj@burl.UUCP (Curtis Jackson) (01/31/86)
In article <413@drutx.UUCP> slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) writes: >The paper today mentioned that people are being urged not to touch >possible debris from the Challanger. One of the reports was about >a "small green canister" that was supposed to be deadly. "You'd >be dead in about 2 seconds" if you touched it. > >What the hell could that be? Or is it just media hype or a story >circulated to make sure people don't tamper with possible important >evidence? >-- My thoughts are, in order of percieved likelihood: 1) Nasty chemicals to be used on one of the experiments, or 2) a waterproof casing containing the "black box" flight recorder that they don't want people to touch for obvious reasons. -- The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3313 (Cornet 291) alias: Curtis Jackson ...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd mgnetp ]!burl!rcj ...![ ihnp4 cbosgd akgua masscomp ]!clyde!rcj
yee@ucbarpa.berkeley.edu.BERKELEY.EDU (Peter E. Yee) (02/02/86)
In article <413@drutx.UUCP> slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) writes: >The paper today mentioned that people are being urged not to touch >possible debris from the Challanger. One of the reports was about >a "small green canister" that was supposed to be deadly. "You'd >be dead in about 2 seconds" if you touched it. > >What the hell could that be? Or is it just media hype or a story >circulated to make sure people don't tamper with possible important >evidence? >-- > > Sue Brezden > ihnp4!drutx!slb From New York Times (Friday, January 31, 1986): Souvenir Hunters Warned of Toxic Shuttle Debris By Malcolm Browne Space agency and Coast Guard officials have issued warnings that souvenir hunters face severe burns or death if they should happen touch some of the debris from the space shuttle Challenger washing ashore from the Atlantic Ocean In particular, officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration warned beachcombers about cylindrical green tanks with hemispheric ends, 96 inches long and 49 inches in diameter. According to Gatha F. Cottee, a spokesmen at Kennedy Space Center, intact green tanks or fragments of tanks might be contaminated by the rocket fuel with which the tanks were filled when the space shuttle Challenger exploded on Tuesday. The officials advised anyone coming on such debris not to touch it and to immediately notify the authorities. The four titanium fuel tanks involved contained two violently reactive chemicals. When mixed together the chemicals explode spontan- eously, even with external ignition. The two liquids, collectively des- ignated hypergolic fuel, are carried in comparatively small amounts aboard shuttle missions and are used to power small maneuvering rockets after the spaceship reaches orbit. Fuel and Oxidizing Agent The maneuvering rockets with hypergolic fuel are also used at the end of each mission to slow down the orbiter so it re-enters the at- mosphere. All rocket propulsion systems require two types of ingredients: a fuel and an oxiding agent to burn the fuel. The oxygen in air is it- self an oxidizing agent, but it is not nearly concentrated or reactive enough to fuel a spacecraft. In the hypergolic system, the fuel consists of a clear liquid called monomethylhydrazine, whose chemical formula is CH6N2, a powerfully reactive substance that can cause intense caustic burns on the skin and is also a poison that particularly affects the liver. Far more dangerous is the hypergolic oxidizer, liquid nitrogen tetroxide, N2O4. Nitrogen tetroxide is so exotic a substance that it is not even listed in The Merck Index, a standard reference volume that summarizes the properties and toxicity of thousands of compounds. However, nitrogen tetroxide violently oxidizes almost any or- ganic substance it touches, including skin and all other human tissues. The burns it causes are instantaneous and likely to be quickly fatal. Nitrogen tetroxide is also a strong poison, even in very small quanti- ties. Space center workers must observe special precautions when hypergolic fuels are loaded on each shuttle, and those not required for the operation are cleared from the launching pad area. No hypergolic fuel had been consumed by the shuttle at time it blew up, and it tanks were therefore presumably full, at least until they were separated from the ship or ruptured. When a Coast Guard cut- ter unloaded it collection of debris at the dock yesterday, several ob- jects shown in photographs looked as if they might have been hypergolic fuel tanks or associated equipment. Mr. Cottee said the agency was not aware of any other debris constituting a hazard in any way comparable to that posed by the hyper- golic fuel tanks. He said the shuttle had carried nothing its payload bay that posed any particular danger. The amount of hypergolic fuel that might have survived the des- truction of the shuttle and many hours in the ocean was not known. Clearly, dilution of the chemicals by sea water would quickly reduce the danger they posed. Although debris from the fuel tanks might still be contaminated, it did not seem likely that the sea water along could have been contaminated enough to endanger people or fish. But NASA and other interested agencies have stressed that even the smallest particle of debris from the shuttle could play a pivotal role in the investigation of the accident, and anyone finding shuttle material is urged to leave it alone. [The article continues with some accusations from the Soviets and some information about problems with Cosmos satellites.] /* Reprinted without permission of the publisher in the interest of ** public dissemination of this information. */ -Peter Yee ..ucbvax!yee yee@ucbarpa.BERKELEY.EDU
bjb@nvzg2.UUCP (Bernie Brown) (02/02/86)
> I think we've all been deeply touched. If only 'deeply' were a strong enough word. > The paper today mentioned that people are being urged not to touch > possible debris from the Challanger. Or keep it. First, *all* of the debris is needed for the investigation. Second, it's a federal crime to keep it. > One of the reports was about > a "small green canister" that was supposed to be deadly. "You'd > be dead in about 2 seconds" if you touched it. > > What the hell could that be? Or is it just media hype or a story > circulated to make sure people don't tamper with possible important > evidence? From what the Coast Guard people who are working the salvage operation stated, it was apparently a *miscommunication*. There is the possibility of canisters of volatile (sp?) chemicals being found but nothing that fatal. (As you can see from the signature, I'm near Orlando, FL. If there's any really urgent news, I'll try to get it to the net, if the boss doesn't have other plans.) Keep the Dream Alive. -- Bernie Brown (AT&T-IS, Altamonte Springs, FL) UUCP ...!ihnp4!codas!nvzg2!bjb This is my commentary not theirs. I don't know, or care, if they care anyway.
kenny@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU (02/02/86)
/* Written 8:54 am Jan 30, 1986 by slb@drutx.UUCP in uiucdcsb:net.columbia */
[ ... ]
The paper today mentioned that people are being urged not to touch
possible debris from the Challanger. One of the reports was about
a "small green canister" that was supposed to be deadly. "You'd
be dead in about 2 seconds" if you touched it.
What the hell could that be?
[ ... ]
Sue Brezden
ihnp4!drutx!slb
/* End of text from uiucdcsb:net.columbia */
Possibly an SRB separation motor. Those things are explosive bolts designed
to blow the SRB's clear of the spacecraft, both during normal SRB-sep and in
the event of an emergency jettisoning of the SRB's. I seem to recall
reading somewhere that they have enough punch to blow through a six-inch
reinforced concrete wall; not something I'd want to pick up with bare hands.
k**2
Kevin Kenny
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
UUCP: {ihnp4,pur-ee,convex}!uiucdcs!kenny
CSNET: kenny@UIUC.CSNET
ARPA: kenny@B.CS.UIUC.EDU (kenny@UIUC.ARPA)
"Yes, understanding today's complex world is a bit like having bees live in
your head, but there they are."