iglesias@UCI.EDU (Mike Iglesias) (02/05/86)
According to this morning's LA Times: - Early shuttle flights had sensors on the SRBs to monitor performance, but they were removed to save weights when it was felt that the SRBs were performing well. The sensors monitored pressure, temperature and vibration in the SRBs. - Two Rockwell officials familiar with the NASA inquiry said that NASA data shows that the 3 main engines experienced a power loss just before the explosion. The power loss was noted between one-tenth and one-one hundreth of a second before the explosion. The SRB that probably caused the explosion suffered a 3% loss of power (about 100,000 pounds of thrust) seconds before. - NASA noted that even if there were sensors on the SRBs, little can be done to save the crew if there is a problem during the first 2 minutes during the flight. They might be able to jettison the SRBs, but it would be difficult to stay clear of them and the external tank. And another NASA spokesman said later that the crews don't train for that maneuver, and that NASA documents state that such an escape is possible only after the SRBs have completed firing. The shuttle would have a near-impossible task of ditching in the ocean if it was able to stear clear of the SRBs and the ET. - Other Rockwell sources said that telemetry shows that the external tank experienced an increase in pressure in both the oxygen and hydrogen tanks, and that pressure relief valves in both tanks popped to decrease some of the pressure. Could the crew survived had they known about the problem? Who knows? Maybe, if they had known about the SRB problem in time, if they had been able to get away from the SRBs and the ET, and been able to ditch successfully in the ocean. That's a lot of ifs... I wonder if NASA is going to think twice about removing sensors after this... Mike Iglesias University of California, Irvine