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I don't think that the age of the craft is coming into question here. We've got B-52s still in operation that are 30+ years old.
FYI, Columbia just finished a 2-year electronic and structural upgrade to it before this launch, if I've read the report correctly.
Having said all of that, I'm sure that they will leave no stones unturned in trying to find the root cause of this disaster. Structural fatigue could have played into it, but there's just too many variables to rule out anything at this time.
May God bless the crew on their final journey into eternity and comfort their families...
JaTo
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Originally posted by 00ContourSE:
Right. I believe it was insulating foam from one of the fuel tanks IIRC. You can bet that it will be scrutinized now. 
My theory (think hindenburg)
The insulation that came off of the fuel tank during liftoff left a weak spot. The ship was not fully protected from static electricity.
Upon re-entry, the now weakened ship traveled through atmosphere that was heavily charged with electricity. A wayward lightning bolt found its way to ground itself on the fuel tank...
Well, you're close. They believe some exterior part of the fuel tank came off during takeoff and scraped the wing, causing some of the protective tiles to be damaged. Therefore the shuttle would not have been able to withstand the heat of reentry, causing it to deteriorate.
Whatever happened, a truly sad day for the world....
Chris G.
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Originally posted by JaTo:
I don't think that the age of the craft is coming into question here. We've got B-52s still in operation that are 30+ years old.
B-52s don't experience the speed, heat, and space particles that shuttles do. Like I said, no matter how much upkeep and upgrades the vehicles receive, nothing can make up for 20+ years of that kind of stress. Not to mention Columbia was our first space shuttle. I believe it was first made in '79.
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Originally posted by Wthermans:
B-52s don't experience the speed, heat, and space particles that shuttles do. Like I said, no matter how much upkeep and upgrades the vehicles receive, nothing can make up for 20+ years of that kind of stress. Not to mention Columbia was our first space shuttle. I believe it was first made in '79.
Originally posted by JaTo:
FYI, Columbia just finished a 2-year electronic and structural upgrade to it before this launch, if I've read the report correctly.
I have my doubts as well, but I'll let engineers at NASA make that call.
JaTo
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Originally posted by reFLex:
This is really sad, . Was anyone by chance watching NBC while this whole drama was unfolding? At one point during the broadcast they went live to what NBC thought was a NASA rep. In actuality, it was a guy on the phone, who said on live tv: "It appears that the space shuttle was shot down by Jackie Martling because Howard Stern was on board"... I wonder if anyone else caught this sick humor? Deffinately not the time for jokes!
figures...i am so afraid now when tv news goes to a live interview and especially a caller...and our anchors here in soCal are so stoopit that often they'll just keep going asking questions eventhough the person has just referred to someone as 'baba booey'
the caller will get disconnected and then the anchor gets a clue...hello??? caller???....okay lets move on...
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Each shuttle was designed to fly 100 missions, so its based on times flown not time in service. This was Columbia's 28th flight.  R I P
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It's still a design that is 2.5 decades old.
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What does a 2.5 decade design has to do with anything? Physics doesn't change. They don't even know exactly what caused the problem yet.
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Originally posted by darksidaz:
Each shuttle was designed to fly 100 missions, so its based on times flown not time in service.
This was Columbia's 28th flight.
R I P
yeh, just as the duratec was designed to go 100,000 miles before needing a tune up 
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Yeah, like Duratec are built one off to ultra high quality like a shuttle would have to.
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