Did it sideswipe a Chinese weather balloon on the way home? 🤔

[quote]On the morning of February 1, 2003, US President George W. Bush went live on television to address to the American public. It was the second time during his still young presidency that Bush had had to break bad news to the nation. What Bush had to say said would shake America and, indeed, the entire world. “My fellow Americans, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country,” he said, “the Columbia is lost. There are no survivors.”

[quote]A few hours earlier, just before 8:50 a.m. eastern time in the US, a sensor on the shuttle had reported a strain on the spacecraft’s left wing. The wing was higher than it should have been. But that warning was not displayed to the crew. And within minutes, Columbia’s return to Earth turned to disaster, leaving the crew of seven to perish.

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by Anonymous

reply 7

April 8, 2024 5:16 AM

It was fascinating to me how at the time actually it didn't get a tenth of the attention the Challenger disaster got.

by Anonymous

reply 1

February 5, 2023 9:46 PM

r1 yes looking back it got so much less attention and the crew suffered horrible deaths.

This was post 9/11, war in Afghanistan and Iraq were about to be in full gear, I think America was desensitized by all the horrible news in the world.

by Anonymous

reply 2

February 5, 2023 9:52 PM

I think you have it R2. From what I remember, when this happened there were a few hours of shock, and then it just kind of got absorbed into all the other shit that was going on.

by Anonymous

reply 3

February 5, 2023 10:10 PM

The CNN documentary is very thorough, informative and heartbreaking at the same time. By the early 2000s the orbiters and their technology were dated and there all kinds of issues.

Its also sad that these people's deaths are often forgotten about because this happened right as the 2nd Iraq War was about to crescendo. I remember around this time terrorists were beheading journalists and innocent people. The American news cycle was dominated by pro-war, Bush era messages, no time to mourn this loss like Challenger.

by Anonymous

reply 4

April 8, 2024 3:19 AM

I remember so well when part of the radioactive debris fell to Earth in Texas, and this sweet Texas farmer admitted to having touched it.

"I knows I warn't s'posed to tetch it, but I tetched it!" he said to the news camera, in great anguish. I hope nothing happened to him.

by Anonymous

reply 5

April 8, 2024 3:38 AM

Laurel Clark looked just like Christa McAuliffe. Eerie. Maybe the perms had something to do with the accidents.

by Anonymous

reply 6

April 8, 2024 4:17 AM

I had just discovered DL. One of you bitches said they bet people were listing bits of debris on eBay and sure enough, they were. NASA put a stop to that pretty quick.

by Anonymous

reply 7

April 8, 2024 5:16 AM