CMP.WERNER@R20.UTEXAS.EDU (Werner Uhrig) (01/28/86)
From TV-news coverage, I have the impression as if there might not have been adequate attention paid to icing which is supposed to have occured this morning on the launch-pad. Now while I have a healthy scepticism of news-coverage, and the highest respect for NASA-efforts and diligence, I still keep pondering the following news-tidbits: 1) ICICLES (!!!), several inches long, were shown, supposedly filmed on the launch pad or launch-vehicle this morning. 2) NASA sources were quoted as not being concerned very much any more when temperature rose above freezing around 10am. 2) NASA was quoted as having been concerned about icicles breaking off during flight and punturing some part of the craft during launch. No mention was made of any concern either about "the extra weight" or "the effect on flight surfaces" 4) Some observers were commenting that the launch seemed to lift slower than usual (extra weight ??) 5) the explosion seemed to occur when the shuttle's 3 engines were switched to "maximum - or 104% - thrust", and on my TV, seemed to occur at the point where Challenger is connected to the external tank. Could there have been an extra stress imposed on connecting fuel-lines due to a "larger than usual differential of acceleration push excerted by the solid-fuel-rocket asembly, to which the external tank is (solidly) connected, and the shuttle vehicle, due to the additional weight of ice on the vehicles? I assume you all are similarly puzzled about things and, maybe, made other observations that escaped me, which I, for one, would be most interested to reading .... I sure hope it wasn't icing, the main killer of pilots .... NO cheers today from me, )-: Werner -------
john@gcc-milo.ARPA (John Allred) (01/30/86)
We'll have to wait for the next issue of Aviation Leak and Space Technology. It usually arrives in my mailbox on Tuesday: I'll post any interesting tidbits. -- John Allred General Computer Company uucp: seismo!harvard!gcc-milo!john