as to why NASA will try to bury the wing damage, is most likely
because of the thorough investigation to why they didn't resolve
the issue while in orbit.
those tiles are there for a reason.
only tiles that have been known to come off without tremendous
affect were in the nose section.
the nose is part of the craft, but has no effect of the aerodyamics
such as those as the airflow over the wing. the wing has a given
airfoil design that should never be compromised. at glider
(lightweight craft) speeds, you could punch a fist sized hole in
the wing and still fly fairly safely.
but at the speed that the shuttle flys, missing tiles could surely
cause a disruption that would induce flutter. flutter (known as
surface vibration) will cause nothing but total destruction.
a lot of what i know about the shuttle and the shuttle program has
to do with knowing Bill Hunter (owner of Satellite city products)
and their involvment in adhesive for securing those tiles.
when dealing with airframe structure (left wing in this case) any,
and i mean any strutural damage (no matter how small) cannot be
considered minor or disregarded as cause.
But could it also account for what looks like atleast two major
fragments in addition to the main body? It looks like the shuttle
disintegrated there and then, and if, say, part of the wing tore
loose, shouldn't the rest of the shuttle have survived a bit longer?
whatever the case, the damage should have been repaired while up in
orbit.
Well, maybe they inspected it? The news reports seem to indicate
that NASA were aware of the wing being struck by the piece of
insulation, so they must have had some idea of the extent of the
damage?
I hope this accident helps accelerate the development of the
shuttle's replacement. Atleast then some good will come of this
tragedy.
naturally NASA will try to rule this out as the cause.
do i need to say why?
I wouldn't mind a clarification.
--
Rune,
http://runesbike.com/
--
photography is my passion.
