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From: SYSMSH@ULKYVX.BITNET
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Hmmm a TDRS leak?
Message-ID: <8602010558.AA02290@s1-b.arpa>
Date: Sat, 1-Feb-86 00:59:26 EST
Article-I.D.: s1-b.8602010558.AA02290
Posted: Sat Feb  1 00:59:26 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Feb-86 20:31:10 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 21

I was extremely interested to note Paul Dietz's comments that the
explosion may have been due to a leak in the TDRS.  An explanation
like that would vindicate the shuttle system, and I'd suppose we'd
all like to see that.  I wonder if there IS any monitoring of the
cargo area other than say, air pressure and environment?  The one
thing that bothers me about Paul's idea is the time the explosion
occured, ie., right after throttle(sp) up.  I'd like to see Paul
speculate on why the hydrazine(or other leaking TDRS fuels) would
have gone off such a short time after Scobie went to full thrust.

Does anyone have any comments about the JPL's speculation that
they actually did go into abort sequence (since the solid fuel
boosters survived and veered off) ?  If leaking fuel detonated
in the cargo bay this might explain why we didn't see the orbiter
veer off as well?  There is talk on CNN today that sonar may have
detected the cockpit component of the challenger.  A lack of cargo
bay remnants and presence of remnants of the front end might lend
some support for Paul's idea.  The more I think about it ect ect.

Mark Hittinger/Systems Programmer/University of Louisville/Kentucky
(bitnet: sysmsh@ulkyvx)