Riveting suspense to some, but unwatchable to others. You decide.

[kenny]

Columbia, the second space shuttle disaster was a major US tragedy.
Investigation showed during launch debris fell onto and damaged heat-shielding tiles on the front edge of the left wing.
Damaged tile allowed hot gas to enter the wing upon reentry into earth's atmosphere, gradually burning up components, which led to the disintegration of the shuttle.

For many people, perhaps most, that is all they want to know.
Others, like myself, are geeks very interested in understanding the why of technical things.

Below's a 14-minute real-time 'documentary' someone assembled for the curious.
It shows a graphic of systems and sensors in the left wing.
The sensors are all green before the craft enters the earth's atmosphere (friction with which generates the intense heat).
One by one the color of sensors' changes as each heats up and eventually fails, then goes offline, and turns blue.

Watch it, or don't.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

its too raw for me Kenny
i remember getting up in the middle of the night watching its very first launch with my dad, and then another day we lay on the front lawn looking for it as it passed over

real people with families died in that disaster

 

[kenny]

its too raw for me Kenny
i remember getting up in the middle of the night watching its very first launch with my dad, and then another day we lay on the front lawn looking for it as it passed over

real people with families died in that disaster

I understand.
People vary.

It's equally "raw" for me too.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I understand.
People vary.

It's equally "raw" for me too.

you know the thing about NASA is even though we are not American here, it was always us, as in we, when we talk about it,
we deffinatly went along for the ride in the space race
the Challanger disaster is also very vivid in my mind, i remember it was the school holidays and i was sleeping in and dad came in to say good buy as he left for work and he told me

the real bad sh*t always happens when we are asleep here

 

[Karl_K]

Im torn on it, I want to watch it but I dont want to watch it.

 

[kenny]

Im torn on it, I want to watch it but I dont want to watch it.

I totally understand this.

It makes me think of that big long word, compartmentalization.
It's something EMTs, police and other first-responders get training in.
Without it they might have difficulty doing the jobs that somebody has to do.

Compartmentalization

Compartmentalization is a defense mechanism in which people mentally separate conflicting thoughts, emotions, or experiences to avoid the discomfort of contradiction. That uncomfortable state is called cognitive dissonance, and it’s one that humans try to avoid, by modifying certain beliefs or...

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I'm putting a pin in this with a comment. I'm waiting until tomorrow to watch this with the youngest, very much within the realm of her scope of interest.

 

[kenny]

There's just so many different and important things that they cut between that I couldn't follow everything.
I had to watch it twice.

Plus you're trying to follow various voices of Mission Control and what crew members are saying.
Headphones or earbuds make it easier to follow the voices.

 

[Begonia]

It was one of the most interesting and most difficult things I've ever watched.

 

[Calliecake]

CNN aired a 4 part special last month titled “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight”. It was a heartbreaking but interesting show to watch.

 

[kenny]

CNN aired a 4 part special last month titled “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight”. It was a heartbreaking but interesting show to watch.

Thanks for the recommendation.
I just finished it.

Very moving!

 

[MissGotRocks]

I remember that day so well and exactly what I was doing when I heard the news. At that time, it seemed like such a mystery to the public at large. I think at this point, it helps to try to understand how this happened. When things make sense - even if it is devastating - acceptance comes easier.

 

[Calliecake]

Thanks for the recommendation.
I just finished it.

Very moving!

CNN did an excellent job telling the whole story leading up to that day and everything that followed..

 

[Austina]

Interesting watch, and it didn’t sound as though the crew was in a panic as it was unfolding. Reports I’ve read said it was unlikely they knew was what about to happen, and that it would’ve been a very quick ending for them.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I watched it, but I wish I hadn't.
I came home from a workshop just as it was happening. I remember reading that female body parts were found but I can't remember where..

Sobering.

 

[ilovegemstones]

There is a photo of me standing beside and touching Columbia before they were retiling it years before the crash. I worked at Disney and we got a special pass to go through and see it. I remember so clearly signs all over 0 FOD! No foreign object debris. It was very odd they let us take photos with it. It was 24 years ago.