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From: kyle.wbst@XEROX.COM
Newsgroups: net.aviation
Subject: Re: news: Challenger lost. (and note on self-destruct mechanism)
Message-ID: <860129-094203-1267@Xerox>
Date: Wed, 29-Jan-86 12:41:53 EST
Article-I.D.: Xerox.860129-094203-1267
Posted: Wed Jan 29 12:41:53 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Feb-86 02:37:48 EST
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Your mention of a destruct mechanism on airliners to foil hijackers
raises the question of possible terrorist activity in the shuttle
explosion. With the recent flap involving Libya, how certain are we that
the radio code that the Air Force range safety officer uses to destruct
shuttles gone astray was not compromised?

Although the slow motion video indicates some other mechanism besides on
board explosives initiating the destruction of the vehicle,  I'm
wondering if a high powered rifle bullet hit either the main fuel tank
or one of the solid boosters shortly after launch if that could have
given the same result we saw yesterday.  What makes me think of that is
the following: When I went to the 4th shuttle launch (STS-4), I noticed
that things were quite different in the press site area (where I was)
than it was for the two Apollo launches I attented (A-11, & A-17) in
that same area. The difference at STS-4 was the large number of armed
guards. When I asked about that, the reply was something to the effect
that there had been some intelligence that someone with a high powered
rifle might try to shoot at the thing during takeoff. As the shuttle
flights got more routine, I'm wondering if the security at the site got
a bit lax?

Does anyone know if a rifle shot on the big tank would be enough to
structurally weaken it such that during that portion of the launch with
maximum stress the thing might rupture?