Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science

Debris, etc.

A lot of close shots of debris on TV. Very detailed stuff. I know for a fact that there are people at NASA watching this on TV who not only know exactly what the parts are, but probably the serial numbers. Whether this helps reconstruct the accident is anybody's guess.

What is interesting is how abrupt the destruction was. While sensors were giving odd readings, and other signs of trouble were starting to show up on telemetry, there were obviously no major anomalies at the beginning, especially aerodynamic problems. The last communication from the Shuttle gave no hint that the pilot knew anything was seriously wrong, or wrong at all, before he was cut off in mid-syllable. Whatever happened, happened extremely fast, like a wing suddenly letting go and hitting the proverbial aerodynamic brick wall. If things started coming loose over California, this is even more interesting.

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