Re: Last sentence is new
Actually this story differs in that the NASA engineer tells you that the debris hitting the wing ""would be the equivalent of a 500 pound safe hitting the wing at 365 miles per hour."
I didn't read that in any of the other media articles. Why wouldn't the engineers have checked on this before attempting reentry?
The sad answers lay in these reports:
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/COL_debris_boeing_030121.pdf
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/COL_debris_boeing_030123.pdf
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/COL_debris_boeing_030124.pdf
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/COL_debris_email.pdf
Clearly a rescue mission with another shuttle should have been mounted.
BD