An internal NASA document warned of a malfunction in the shuttle lift that would endanger the landing
Commentary - by Avi Blizovsky
The fact that 4 bodies were discovered and not three, leads to the conclusion that Ramon's body does not have to be one of them. This is because the astronauts are actually on two separate floors, on the upper one Captain Rick Husband, his lieutenant and shuttle pilot Willie McCall, and astronaut Laurel Clark were supposed to sit. Ramon, Brown, Anderson and Chawla are supposed to be found on the lower floor.
Part of the shuttle's bow was found
In the last two days, the search teams on the ground in the Texas and Louisiana area managed to locate remains of the astronauts' bodies, but there was still no progress in identifying the remains. Most of the human remains were found in the Lapkin area in Texas, but it is estimated that as the search continues, more remains will be found.
NASA said yesterday that so far remains belonging to four bodies have been found. The remains were submitted for DNA testing and the results will be received today.
The human remains, as well as fragments of the shuttle, collected all over the country, are being transported by military helicopter to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. After the remains are collected and undergo preliminary identification at Barksdale, they will be transferred to the US Air Force Institute of Pathology in Dover, Delaware. The facility in Dover is set up to identify the bodies of disaster victims, and helped, among other things, identify the bodies of those killed on September 11.
The identification team was joined yesterday by a lieutenant colonel from the chief military rabbinate, who specializes in identifying corpses. Basically, NASA does not involve external parties in the identification process, but this time the agency deviated from the norm, and at the request of the Israeli representatives agreed to also involve a military rabbi in the identification process.
Despite the American space agency's attempt to provide only reliable and verified information to the public about the investigation, precisely regarding the identification of the bodies, the agency got tangled up yesterday with contradictory messages. At a late press conference, yesterday in Houston, Bob Cavanagh, who is in charge of operations at NASA, said that "the remains of the bodies of all the astronauts have been found." His announcement immediately became headlines on the television news broadcasts and surprised Israeli officials, who had heard shortly before from NASA that there were no remains of all the astronauts and there was not even a preliminary identification of the remains.
The IDF attaché in the US, Major General Moshe Evri-Soknik, who came to Houston, said: "Certainly - you can't say that they found remains of all of them." NASA spokesmen were forced to issue a correction notice, in which they clarified that Cabana's words were inaccurate.
In conversations with NASA personnel, the Israeli representatives emphasized the importance that Judaism attaches to bringing the dead to Israel's grave as soon as possible. According to reports in the local media in Texas, among the human remains found are fragments of a skull, thigh, leg and upper body.
A large part of the shuttle's bow was discovered in Texas
A large part of the nose of the space shuttle Columbia was discovered last night (Monday) in an open field in Texas, CNN reports. "We were told it was in pretty good shape," said one of the federal agents responsible for the search. The bow piece is the largest shuttle part found so far. Today, the search expanded west to California, following eyewitness reports that parts of a ferry were spotted in that state as well.
NASA allocated 150 employees for the purpose of collecting and cataloging the fragments, while local police forces secure hundreds of crash sites across the US. A special effort was devoted yesterday to the search, using divers, in a reservoir in Louisiana, after citizens reported that they saw an extremely large fragment, the size of a car, falling into the reservoir.
In 93 districts in the state of Texas, it was decided to postpone the opening of classes yesterday, until the schools undergo a thorough scan to make sure that there are no fragments from the shuttle, which could be dangerous for students.
After the process of collecting and cataloging most of the fragments is completed, NASA will determine a site where the agency's experts will try to "rebuild" the shuttle from the fragments found. This process, although long and complicated, is essential for understanding the circumstances of the accident.
The central dispersal zone of the fragments is located along a route that begins in Palestine, Texas, is centered in Nashikadoshes County, and ends in Vernon County, Louisiana. But the fragments were also found in a much larger area. Among the most notable fragments found so far - an astronaut's helmet, a badge of the expedition, from a large container that fell on the civil runway and hundreds of tiles and pieces of metal.
Israel will ask the US to send another astronaut into space
Israel will present to the US a request to send another Israeli astronaut into space in the future - this is what Israeli sources in the US said yesterday. According to the sources, the timing of the presentation of the Israeli request has not yet been decided, but it is possible that the issue will already be raised at the meeting that the American President, George Bush, will hold today with members of Ilan Ramon's family and with Israeli representatives; The meeting will take place after the ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to commemorate the seven astronauts who were killed in the space shuttle Columbia crash on Saturday.
In the consultations that took place in Israel and the USA in the last two days, it was agreed that Israel has an interest in launching another astronaut on its behalf; This, both because of the symbolic importance of this and because of the desire to continue promoting the Israeli space program.
At this stage it seems that the Israeli request does not have much practical significance, but mainly of principle importance. The American space program is manned for the next few years, so even if it is decided to launch another Israeli astronaut, he will have to begin the long process of training and preparations for a space mission that will only leave in a few years.
After the "Challenger" shuttle disaster in January 1986, which carried a teacher on board for the first time, NASA decided not to send passengers into space who were not qualified astronauts. Therefore, all those going into space undergo full astronaut training at NASA's space bases. If it is decided to launch another Israeli into space, he will have to meet NASA's screening conditions and undergo the full training of the astronaut team.
In addition, after the Columbia crash on Saturday, it was actually decided to freeze all planned shuttle launches until the circumstances of the accident and the causes of the crash are clarified, and it is still unclear when space flights will resume.
Therefore, all planned space missions are expected to be postponed and the turn to attach an astronaut to future programs has been further postponed. Despite this, the Israeli assessment is that the US will respond positively, at least in principle, to the request to send another Israeli astronaut into space. One of the reasons for this is the admiration of the American space agency for the performance of Lt. Col. Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. Ramon arrived at NASA four and a half years ago, and began training for the STS-107 mission two and a half years ago. He was highly regarded by his fellow astronauts and by the heads of the space program.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said immediately after the shuttle launch that Ramon demonstrated exceptional performance and abilities and that he excelled in all the fields and tasks he was required to do. Initially, Ramon's role in the shuttle was supposed to be limited and focus only on the Israeli experiment, but after his capabilities became clear, it was decided to give him a more extensive role, which also included conducting other experiments.
NASA: We may have made a mistake in the assessment that the damage to the left wing is not significant
A scientist at the space agency warned two days before the crash that it would not be possible to land Columbia due to the damage to the wing during takeoff; NASA is re-examining how alerts are handled
Tiles that broke off at takeoff probably spelled disaster
NASA is re-examining the handling of news of a possible malfunction and alerts received about a fear of damage to the left wing of the Columbia shuttle, which crashed on Saturday before its landing. Yesterday it was learned that one of the scientists warned, in a memo he sent two days before the landing date, that the damage to the left side of the shuttle is severe and that in such a situation it is impossible to make a safe landing of the shuttle.
The heads of NASA yesterday (Monday) rejected the claims as if they had ignored the problem in the left wing. They said that they conducted comprehensive tests, at the end of which they concluded that the impact of the insulation fragment on the left wing during the launch is "insignificant" and does not constitute a safety problem for the shuttle. However, Ron Ditmore, the director of the ferry project at the agency, said that the accident investigators who determined that there was no safety problem with the ferry, were not aware of the scientist's reservation when making the decision. He indicated that now the comment of that engineer will be examined again. "The engineers may have been wrong. The matter is being looked into," he said. "We want to know if we made wrong assumptions. We want to know if we were not conservative enough, and if we made mistakes," he added.
NASA's space flight director, Bill Reedy, said that on the 12th day of the mission, four days before the landing, an assessment of the impact was made and it was determined, in the opinion of all ranks at NASA, that it is not an impact that requires any action or avoidance of the landing . NASA experts further clarified that even if it was clear to the flight managers that there was a problem with the insulation tiles of the plane's wing, there was no way to fix this problem when the shuttle was in space. Reedy noted that although damage to the insulation tiles is the leading cause currently being investigated, there is still no absolute certainty that this is the cause of the crash.
Preliminary results of the DNA tests of the remains of the bodies found on the ground are expected to be received today. The identification officials already know that these are the remains of four different bodies, but it is not clear which of the astronauts. At the same time, the effort to collect all the wreckage of the shuttle continued in Texas and Louisiana.
The main memorial ceremony for the seven astronauts will be held today (at 20:00 Israel time) at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the participation of the US President, George Bush. After the ceremony, Bush will meet with the families of the astronauts, including Rona Ramon, the widow of the Israeli astronaut who was on the shuttle, Ilan Ramon. The Jewish community of Houston, of which the Ramon family was a member, held its own memorial service last night for Ilan Ramon and his fellow astronauts.
An internal NASA document warned of a malfunction in the shuttle lift that would endanger the landing
According to the memorandum, significant damage was caused to the left wing; NASA: They don't know the document. The defect is known, but we assessed that it is not dangerous; Congress report: NASA is not investing enough in safety
Dittmore at a press conference. There was no way for the crew to repair the damage to the wing
NASA: The leading explanation in the investigation of the "Columbia" crash - the damage to the insulation tiles
Bill Randy, director of NASA confirmed that the leading theory among those being tested is that the cause of the Columbia shuttle crash is the damage caused to the insulation tiles during the launch.
However, Randy said "everyone jumped to the conclusion that this is the reason, but I am not ready to say so". He added that the engineer's report produced during the flight showed that even if the tiles were damaged there was no fear for the safety of the astronauts.
It was reported in the American media yesterday (Monday) that two days before the "Columbia" shuttle crash, one of the NASA scientists sent an internal memo, in which he warned that significant damage had been caused to the insulation layer on the left wing of the shuttle during takeoff, and that he feared that it would not be possible to land the shuttle . NASA stated in response that they are not familiar with the memorandum, but nevertheless clarified that they knew about the deficiency, and the tests they conducted showed that it was not significant. According to NASA, in any case it was not possible to repair damage to the insulation tiles. NASA's director of manned flights, Ron Ditmore, said at the daily press conference that even if the control center had ordered the crew members to check the damage to the bottom of the wing, they had no option to do so.
NASA stated today that the main direction of the investigation that was examined is that it was the impact of the piece of insulation foam on the left wing during takeoff that caused the crash on landing.
According to the memorandum, parts of the insulating material of the outer fuel tank of the shuttle, which were detached from it during the launch, caused a tear in the body of the left wing, the size of which was estimated at about half a square meter. NASA already said after the crash that telescopic photographs located immediately after the launch the piece of foam that broke off from the fuel tanks and hit the wing. However, from the analyzes of the experts at that stage, it emerged that the damage did not cause any concern for the safety of the ferry.
Various experts claim that poor maintenance of NASA's shuttle fleet in general, and of Columbia in particular, could be the cause of the malfunction. The "New York Times" publishes today that NASA fired five of the agency's team of nine space safety advisors, who warned last year about safety problems that might arise in the shuttle fleet following the cut in the NASA budget. In protest of the dismissal, a senior staff member, Admiral Bernard M. gloomier The spokesperson for NASA in Washington, Sonja Alexander, said in response that the reason for the layoffs is not related to warnings but to the fact that there was a need to replace them with younger and more skilled people. "The safety team had extensive experience and a deep familiarity with the ferries and the systems that operate them, and with the problems with them," it was reported.
The last report compiled by the team of experts, last March, included an assessment by six members of the team, according to which "the long-range safety work in the space shuttles has deteriorated. The cut in the budget forces the emphasis to be placed on short-term planning, and delays the implementation of the planned improvements to the ferries," reads the report, which called for sweeping changes in the order of priorities for work on the ferries.
Congress report: NASA is not investing enough resources in safety
Natan Gutman, "Haaretz" correspondent for Houston, adds: A report by the congressional research body that was published about a week ago criticized the way NASA's operations were managed. The report claimed that NASA does not invest enough resources in safety matters and that the manpower dedicated to the issue of shuttle safety is insufficient. This report by the Congressional Audit Office is a continuation of a previous report, published two years ago, in which it was stated that "manpower has been reduced to a level that reduces NASA's ability to support the safety of the shuttle project."
In response to that report, NASA decided to add 200 full-time employees to the shuttle program, however, as mentioned, even this step - as the audit body claimed last week - is not enough. The new inspection defined the level of manpower in the organization as "inadequate".
The US Congress has not yet decided on opening an investigation or hearings on its behalf about the disaster, but lawmakers on Capitol Hill have already expressed their opinion that the agency should re-examine the entire feasibility of the shuttle project. However, members of Congress from the committee that oversees the NASA budget claimed that the lesson from the disaster is precisely the need to significantly increase the agency's budget.
Additional remains of the astronauts' bodies were found
Natan Gutman, "Haaretz" correspondent for Houston, adds: During the last two days, the search teams in the Texas and Louisiana area managed to locate additional remains of the astronauts' bodies, but there is still no progress in identifying the remains. Most of the human remains were found in the Lapkin area of Texas, but it is estimated that as the search continues, more remains will be found. Among the remains found are fragments of a skull, thigh, leg and upper body.
In Nacdoches County in Texas and nearby areas, the search for wreckage of the ferry continued today, despite severe weather conditions. The human remains, as well as other fragments of the shuttle, are being transported by military helicopter to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. After initial identification, they will be transferred to the Pathological Institute of the US Air Force in Dover, Delaware, where the bodies of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks were also identified. After the process of collecting and cataloging most of the fragments is completed, NASA will determine a site where the agency's experts will try to "rebuild" the shuttle from the fragments found in an attempt to understand the circumstances of the accident.
The identification team was joined today by a lieutenant colonel from the military rabbinate, who specializes in identifying corpses. NASA deviated from the norm, and at the request of Israel's representatives, agreed to also involve a military rabbi in the identification process.
Today is a memorial service with the participation of Bush
The Jewish community of Houston held a memorial service today for Ilan Ramon and his friends. A memorial service for the seven astronauts will be held tomorrow at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The US President, George Bush, will participate in the ceremony, and Israel will be represented by Minister Sylvan Shalom.
Rona Ramon announced today that she intends to return to Israel with her children as soon as next week. Ramon spoke today on the phone with the president of the country, Moshe Katsav. During the conversation, she told the president that she intends to hold a funeral for her husband in Israel, after his body is found and identified.
The crash: a possible crisis at "Boeing"
The crash of the space shuttle "Columbia" could cause, among other things, a crisis in the "Boeing" company - NASA's largest contractor. "Boeing", which is considered the largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft in the world and the second largest contractor of the US Department of Defense, has laid off approximately 30 workers since the terrorist attack on the US on September 11, 2001. The company is currently struggling with an unprecedented downturn in commercial aviation.
The "Boeing" company builds shuttles for NASA after receiving in 1996 the concession for this from the "Rockwell International" company. "Boeing" also maintains the shuttles together with the "Lockheed Martin" company. In addition, the company conducts experiments, and maintains engines in the ferry.
Many experts believe that it is too early to determine how the crash will affect Boeing and other companies involved in the space program, but John Rogers, a space expert at an investment company in Portland, believes that the space contractors will soon feel the impact of the crash. "There are still many things we don't know, but it seems to me that there won't be many investments in space programs, at least until we know what happened. This will affect everyone involved in the delivery of space programs", according to Rogers.
President Katsav spoke with Rona Ramon
State President Moshe Katsav spoke with Rona Ramon, the widow of the late Ilan Ramon and expressed his condolences. Rona told the president that the love that comes from Israel strengthens her and her children, and that she will arrive in Israel soon with her family to give her husband a Jewish funeral.
