The reason they did not do so is that they simply did not suspect the danger. says a spokesman for the Columbia Disaster Commission of Inquiry
Senior NASA officials told the investigators of the Columbia disaster that a rescue operation that had been undertaken to save the Columbia astronauts, had the agency known that it was in danger, would have been dangerous but possible. This is what the spokesman for the investigation committee said on Saturday (May 24).
The agency offered two possible alternatives for rescuing the astronauts if its superiors had known about the damaged wing. NASA could send Columbia's twin sister, Atlantis, and manipulate it so that the astronauts from Columbia could be transferred to it.
Columbia's crew had to stretch their resources and stay in orbit for another 14 days, for a total of 30 days in space while NASA accelerates the launch of the satellite, which was scheduled for launch on March 1.
Alternatively, the agency should have sent astronauts from Columbia with instructions to seal the torn wing, with whatever materials they could find on board the spacecraft. Woodyard said.
NASA released these rescue scripts in response to a request from the head of the investigative committee, Harold Gehman, Woodyard said.
The external investigation team, looking into the circumstances of the crash of the space shuttle "Columbia" in early February, determined that it would have been possible to rescue the seven astronauts, if NASA experts had realized in advance that the shuttle's shell had been damaged. The crash, according to which even if they knew about the malfunction, there was no technical possibility to rescue the astronauts.
NASA said that the rescue attempt was technically possible, but very, very dangerous." According to Tyrone Woodyard, spokesman for the investigative committee.
The investigation team, headed by retired Admiral Harold Gaiman, asked NASA to conduct a renewed examination of the rescue question, and at the end of the week the conclusions of the examination were received. Gaiman said that it turns out that there was a possibility - very technically complicated and fraught with risks - to rescue the astronauts before they entered the atmosphere with the shuttle .
According to the report, it was possible to launch the shuttle "Atlantis" into space in a panic, which was already in the flight preparation area at Cape Kennedy in Florida (because it was intended to be the next shuttle to be launched into space). Within 5-4 days, with a team of four skilled astronauts on board, who will be quickly trained for the rescue operation.
"Columbia" was supposed to land on Earth on February 1 after a 16-day stay in space, but NASA experts estimate that it could have been left in space for another two weeks - until mid-February. The amount of food and water had to be rationed, but the significant component - Lithium hydroxide, a chemical used to clean the air in the shuttle from carbon dioxide - was enough for this period.
According to the scenario presented in the report, "Atlantis" could have reached the vicinity of "Columbia" four days before the lithium hydroxide reservoir ran out, and anchored at a distance of about 10 meters from it. Two astronauts would have left it, tied to the shuttle's body and carrying two space suits in their hands More for the "Columbia" people. This way the crew members could be transferred into "Atlantis" in pairs and brought back to the ball The Earth in the crowded shuttle. NASA experts stated that this is a dangerous and daring operation, but also mentioned the Apollo 13 rescue in 1970 as evidence that such operations are feasible.
However, the main problem was that no one knew about the problem at "Columbia". The report's conclusions emphasize the seriousness of the error of the heads of the shuttle program, who refused to order satellite photographs of the shuttle in space, after it was known that a piece of insulating foam had detached and damaged the wing. Such a photograph would have confirmed that the shuttle's body was damaged and would have allowed a rescue operation to begin.
Due to the tight schedule for such an operation, it is not at all clear whether it could have been carried out, as ferry launches are often delayed for days due to bad weather conditions. The rescue plan required an immediate launch of "Atlantis", before the supply of oxygen in "Columbia" runs out.
However, there is no certainty that these strategies would have worked in the field. If they had sent Atlantis, NASA people would have risked losing that shuttle and its crew as well, Woodyard said.
Immediately after the disaster, senior NASA officials said it was impossible to save the astronauts, but if NASA officials had known earlier about the damage to the wing, Woodyard said, the agency could have done "everything it could
to save the crew. "Doing nothing is not an acceptable option if we knew about the severity of the damage." Woodyard said.
About this and much more - in the book "The Crash" by Avi Blizovsky and Yefa Shir-Raz. Soon in stores and online book sites.
