well it could and probably does "jive" with the observations. If there were
any trailing particles at all then there was some sort of disintegration
going on over California. Normal reentries don't have any particles coming
off the Shuttle. I have seen and photographed a reentry in the same lighting
conditions, elevation, and distance from landing, and they don't have
particles flying off. The particles could have been a few tiles peeling off
and the sensors were knocked out by the blowtorch entering the wing through
a small but expanding hole with no apparent change in aerodynamics until it
really blew out.
The pressure at that part of the entry is not great, less than 10lbs per
square foot, even though a lot of heat is being generated by the great speed
of the thin air so things are not being blown off the wing but melted.
Just my theory.
Dale
> On Sun, 2 Feb 2003 16:01:38 -0500, you ("Woody Emanuel"
> <bwe@adelphia.net>)
> wrote:
>
> >The left wing elevon sensors are the ones that cut out.
> >But that gives about seven minutes until loss of contact
> >during which time NASA reports all flight characteristics
> >were perfectly normal. That doesn't jive with disintegration
> >starting seven minutes earllier over California.
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