Some personal pics of Columbia

[Texan]

I want to post some pictures of the Shuttle Columbia. These pictures are not copywritten, I took them myself. They were taken at a NASA facility in California a couple of years ago when the shuttle was taken in for a rebuild between missions.

Call this a mini-memorial.

I'm not accustomed to adding pics to posts, so I hope this works.

 

[Texan]

another

 

[bknight2602]

Thanks Texan.

 

[Texan]

and

 

[Texan]

you're welcome

 

[Texan]

.

 

[Texan]

can someone tell me how many pics have posted here.

I post a pic, and it seems that a previously posted pic has been deleted and the new one has taken it's place

 

[tyme]

Thank you for showing that. I just showed my kids they think its cool.

 

[Texan]

.

 

[Texan]

Thank you for showing that. I just showed my kids they think its cool.

I like that... you're welcome.

 

[plasticman33]

Thanks Texan. Great pictures.

 

[Texan]

I guess I have to change the text that goes with the pic or it will replace a previously posted pic with the new one.

 

[tyme]

rofl my son told me the person in one of the pics is very little.....

 

[Secret Kate]

The pictures are working fine Texan. There are 7 or 8 different ones.


Appreciate your sharing them with us!

 

[Texan]

I wish I could post the pics I have of my kids inside the shuttle. I had the chance to get them an "inside" tour during a rare time that the shuttle is not "off limits." I was able to take pics of each of my four boys sitting in the cockpit and climbing from the crew compartment up through to the flight deck. I will never post pics of my children on the internet, or I would post those pics.

 

[sunstruck]

Excellent pictures Tex. A sweet reminder.

 

[tyme]

I agree with you Texan I would not post pics of my kids too. In fact most of my art work is of my kids and I would not post it because of this.

Thank you again for the Pics my kids like them.

 

[Texan]

The pictures are working fine Texan. There are 7 or 8 different ones.


Appreciate your sharing them with us!

thanks Kate, I think a missed a couple, but this will do.

I hope anyone interested enjoys.

 

[Rhys]

Thank you Texan. I was lucky enough to see one of the orbiters as well on a trip to Johnson Space Centre in Houston.

A very moving tribute.

 

[Secret Kate]

I've seen Columbia once at Ellington Field (that's an old military base near Johnson Space Center - where the astronauts fly - for those not from this area). It stopped over on it's way to Florida. Somewhere I have pics - but no scanner to get them on the computer.

My husband and son drove down to JSC on Saturday afternoon and were in awe of the amount of flowers, balloons, flags and such left there at the gates. He said it reminded him of WTC when he went to NY just two weeks after 9/11 on business (he lost 13 co-workers there).

 

[Lancecastor]

When I was a boy, there were two car ferries operating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Newfoundland; the Carson and the Ericsson.

My grandfather always insisted we take the Ericsson, because as a sea captain he firmly believed the Carson's design and construction were inferior.

"One day the bottom is going to drop out of her, and down she'll go.", he'd say, quite matter-of-factly.

My mother hated the Ericsson; it was long and narrow by comparison to the Carson, with a v-hull. It wiggled more in the sea and we almost always got seasick on it....so we most often took the Carson.

Plus, we simply liked the Carson; I can see myself stepping over the sills of its massive gear-driven water-tight bulkheads below decks.

Years later, the bottom fell out of the Carson off the Labrador coast. She went down, taking some passengers with her.

Looking at the close-ups of the Columbia and its weathered, fragile tiling system I was reminded of the Carson.

Lance

 

[sexyguy2]

It amazes me. looking at those pics, that NASA would send it up. With the space budget cut by every administration since Reagan, it's a wonder that NASA can operate at all.

Now we see Bush's budget cutting even MORE taxes and saddling us with even MORE debt, plus this stupid war we're going to fight and the administative costs in Iraq afterward that will cost over 100 billion dollars, where will the money come from to keep the space program operating?

 

[Romial]

I hope it wasn't in that shape when it went up this last time.

Great pics tho.

 

[Texan]

I hope it wasn't in that shape when it went up this last time.

Great pics tho.

Actually, the shuttle looks "pristine" at each launch. Those pics were taken AFTER a mission. The coloring is due to the heat (4000 degrees F.) resisted/absorbed during re-entry.

In one of the pics, it show some missing tiles. Those were not lost during flight, they had been removed by technicians for replacement or for access to sub-surface sensors.

People have been questioning why the shuttle could not have been repaired during flight, had some tiles become dislodged. One of the reasons is that EVERY tile is different in size and shape. Each tile is custom designed and fitted for the specific location. Each tile is serial numbered and has from two to five layers of material, of different thicknesses. The tile system creates a heat transfer vehicle to move heat from "induction zones" to "transfer zones." This allows the heat of re-entry friction to be transfered from the front of the vehicle to the rear and discharged behind the shuttle. I have some computer simulations of the transfer process (not classified) that I may try to find and extract a pic for this thread.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

 

[freakygirl]

Texan

Would you be willing to blank out the kids faces with a photo editing program? I'd love to see the other pictures.

Also, is it ok if I save the pictures you have posted so far to my hard drive? I would like to show my children, but I don't want them seeing them here on Lit (They are older.. don't want them memorizing the URL and coming to visit )