Report on Columbia Details How Astronauts Died
 

Seven astronauts slipped into unconsciousness within seconds and their bodies were whipped around in seats whose restraints failed as the space shuttle Columbia spun out of control and disintegrated in 2003, according to a new report from NASA.

While the astronauts’ upper bodies flailed, the helmets that were supposed to protect them ended up battering their skulls, the report said, and “lethal trauma occurred to the unconscious or deceased crew due to the lack of upper-body support and restraint.”

Investigators state bluntly in the 400-page report that better equipment in the crew cabin would not have saved the astronauts on the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, as the Columbia disintegrated after re-entering the atmosphere on the way to its landing strip in Florida. “The breakup of the crew module and the crew’s subsequent exposure to hypersonic entry conditions was not survivable by any currently existing capability,” they wrote.

They added, “There is no known complete protection from the breakup event except to prevent its occurrence.”

The report’s goal, NASA officials said, is to provide a guideline for safety in the design of future spacecraft. In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, N. Wayne Hale, Jr., a former head of the shuttle program, said, “I call on spacecraft designers from all the other nations of the world, as well as the commercial and personal spacecraft designers here at home, to read this report and apply these lessons which have been paid for so dearly.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/sc...ml?ref=science

This was an interesting piece of closure to the Shuttle Program.

What were these conclusions based upon? Did they have recorders or "little black boxes." Were they still in contact with the astronauts? Are there cameras inside beaming signals back?
After reading the article I am left wondering if it is supposition or fact.

I don't know about you guys but I'd just as soon be unconscious if I'm gonna burn to death. Give me the crappy helmet please.

Some dude on the tube said they were unconscious because they lost cabin pressure (oxygen), and they know exactly when this happened because everyone on board was madly pushing buttons up to this point.

My guess would be that autopsy results combined with many years of aircraft accident reconstruction from examination of critical parts, cabin furniture, burn marks, as well as data directly from the aircraft as it broke up gave them the best picture they could get from it. We have been studying aircraft accident scenes for so many years other countries rely on our services with major plane crashes. I think it is the most accurate unclassified result were are going to get at this point.

The helmets were supposed to "protect them" by providing oxygen, not impact insurance.

You're in a space shuttle. The space shuttle malfunctions. Bye. No helmet will save you, unless it's a helmet made of bubbles and butterflies.

Agreed. The quote is from the article. I still find that type of forensic pathology very interesting.

Yeah, the little quotes are inside the quote. A quoted quote.

"..."...I thought about doing something like this..."..."

You're in a space shuttle. The space shuttle malfunctions. Bye. No helmet will save you, unless it's a helmet made of bubbles and butterflies

ooops

they found a video tape (rather miraculously) taken by one of the crew during reentry.

somewhere it must be available... (???) IIRC it shows most of the crew (some not wearing helmets) while the 'light show' begins outside.

the finding of the tape is also very interesting: a rancher contacts NASA saying he found a piece of shuttle on his prop. The crew goes out to pick it up and finds the tape casette lying next to the vehicle where they parked.

edit:
release of tape + details

Wow! thats incredible.

The crew were wearing helmets except maybe one who was still busy performing a pre-reentry task. But sudden and massive decompression immobilized the crew quickly. Only one is believed to be 'pressing buttons' probably trying to restart two (of three) APUs so as to restore hydraulic pressure. He did not know hydraulic fluid had already drained out into the left wing. And, of course, the pilot and commander were desperately trying to fix a problem completely unknown even though hundreds of engineers suspected that problem existed.

The report states why the crew was killed five times over. The report is very careful to not describe what happened to the bodies except to note indications of decompression in tissue samples.

Also not described in this report or the previous one is the sensor man who was asked what would happen if the Shuttle had a hole and started to disintegrate. He is photographed as reciting those exact same events in a very controlled voice knowing full well the crew was perishing.