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From: piner@pur-phy.UUCP (Richard Piner)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Speculation III
Message-ID: <1955@pur-phy.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Feb-86 04:50:50 EST
Article-I.D.: pur-phy.1955
Posted: Tue Feb  4 04:50:50 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Feb-86 21:30:27 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Purdue Univ. Physics Dept., IN
Lines: 34


   I have seen the NASA films on the right SRB and there is no doubt
that the fuel burned through the skin. However, I still have doubts
about this causing the explosion the destroyed the Challenger.
   The reason is this, the external tank contains LIQUID H2 and O2.
In order for the burning solid fuel to rupture the ET, it would first have
to burn through the ET insulation. This insulation is holding liquid H2
at around 20 degrees Kelvin. That's cold. The insulation has to
have a huge R value. After you burn through that, you still have to
get through the aluminum tank. That tank contains liquid. Try this
experiment. Take a paper cup and fill it with water. Now take a propane
torch, and try burning a hole through the bottom. What happens? The
water boils but the cup does not burn. If indeed the SRB "torch"
burned through the ET insulation, it would have boiled the liquid
H2. This would have caused an increase in pressure in the tank.
Long before it could burn a hole in the aluminum tank, pressure
sensors in the Challenger would have been screaming bloody murder.
I'm almost sure this information would have been in the down link.
But NASA says the telemetry data shows nothing unusual. I doubt
they are lying about that.
   The only way that a flame from the SRB could have caused the
ET to explode instantly, would be if there were an internal leak
inside the ET. Such leaks are not uncommon in cryogenic systems.
But doesn't the ET have leak sensors in it? Or is there a nominal
leak rate. A small leak could be ignored if there aren't any flames
about. But of course this time there was.
   I can't help but have an uneasy feeling that there were two failures
in the shuttle system. One was the SRB, and the other was the one
that blew up the ET. I hope that NASA does not just assume the SRB
at fault and stop at that. I also feel that we are not getting enough
information from NASA. See my next posting.

					Richard Piner
					piner@pur-phy.UUCP