BigJimW
Original Orbiter Beta Tester
Hey guys, long time no see. Figured I'd drop in.
Apparently, there was a tragidy. Brian, the daredevil spacebat who wanted to become the first American bat in space, was killed during liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery on Sunday, apparently thinking it was safe to ride on the External Tank.
Infrared photography showed NASA scientists that the bat was alive during liftoff. Apparently the little bugger just could not hang on for the entire ride, and is likely the bat dropped off and died in the searing 1400°C exhaust of the throttling boosters.
"Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the center said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist," NASA officials said Tuesday. "The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery's climb into orbit."
Indeed the creature would not have been able to hold on during the event of maximum aerodynamic pressue.
In the hours before Discovery's liftoff, NASA's Final Inspection Team (called the "ICE team") investigated whether the creature would pose a risk to the shuttle if its body impacted the orbiter's sensitive heat shield tiling. Ultimately, NASA officials signed a waiver confirming that the bat was safe to fly with.
"The bat eventually became 'Interim Problem Report 119V-0080' after the ICE team finished their walkdown," the memo said. "Systems Engineering and Integration performed a debris analysis on him and ultimately a Launch Commit Criteria waiver to ICE-01 was written to accept the stowaway."
In his last act, the bat had a message
RIP Brian, your sacrifice will always be remembered.
I sent NASA an updated patch
So, how has everyone been? I'm really a long time member but have not been on for so long, I guess I was forgotten about.
Apparently, there was a tragidy. Brian, the daredevil spacebat who wanted to become the first American bat in space, was killed during liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery on Sunday, apparently thinking it was safe to ride on the External Tank.
Infrared photography showed NASA scientists that the bat was alive during liftoff. Apparently the little bugger just could not hang on for the entire ride, and is likely the bat dropped off and died in the searing 1400°C exhaust of the throttling boosters.
"Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the center said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist," NASA officials said Tuesday. "The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery's climb into orbit."
Indeed the creature would not have been able to hold on during the event of maximum aerodynamic pressue.
In the hours before Discovery's liftoff, NASA's Final Inspection Team (called the "ICE team") investigated whether the creature would pose a risk to the shuttle if its body impacted the orbiter's sensitive heat shield tiling. Ultimately, NASA officials signed a waiver confirming that the bat was safe to fly with.
"The bat eventually became 'Interim Problem Report 119V-0080' after the ICE team finished their walkdown," the memo said. "Systems Engineering and Integration performed a debris analysis on him and ultimately a Launch Commit Criteria waiver to ICE-01 was written to accept the stowaway."
In his last act, the bat had a message
RIP Brian, your sacrifice will always be remembered.
I sent NASA an updated patch
So, how has everyone been? I'm really a long time member but have not been on for so long, I guess I was forgotten about.
to the forum!
