Baristas and Blast-Off

*UPDATE UPDATE*

Okay, so maybe the Hottie McLatte hasn't fallen in love with me yet, but today, we did make conversation and he gave me my hot chocolate for free. Am I that obvious? I had finally broken my coffee-purchasing habits, and now I'm going to have to start up again. Because, our connection? It's electric.

But moving onto more sophisticated journalistic pursuits, I bring you the first post of my new series called, Stuff You Should Know (SYSK). This segment will regale you with information I've come across that I feel compelled to share with my public.

Let's get started. I know that I've been insensitive about NASA in the past, but a recent podcast about the Columbia disaster and a man who tried to prevent it gave me the chills. Reports like this one surfaced shortly after the shuttle and its members were lost, but I'd forgotten some of the story behind it. If you have six minutes, I'd reccommend a listen. But if you don't, here's all the relevant info:

(and James, this science blog is for you)

When chief structural engineer Rodney Rocha saw the video of a piece of foam from the shuttle's external fuel tank fly off and hit Columbia's wing at 500mph, he knew something was wrong. The Shuttle launched on a Friday, and he saw the video a day later. He sent emails voicing his concerns, but it was Martin Luther King weekend, and they went unanswered until Tuesday (How can NASA take three-day weekends when there are people in a rocket ship in "space"?). He put in a special request for high resolution photos, so experts could assess the damage.

His requests were flatly denied. He drafted an e-mail to senior managers, saying the decision was dangerous and irresponsible. Afraid to breach NASA protocol, he never sent the note. A committee came to its own conclusion nine days later the damage was not significant enough to merit serious concern. Rocha says making a decision like this without photographs is like telling how bad a car accident is if you only hear it from inside your house. But at the time, standard operating procedure was that the shuttle was assumed OK unless proven otherwise. "Today that seems crazy," Rocha says.

On February 1st, Rocha watched as the shuttle broke apart after superheated gas flew into the wing upon re-entry. The shuttle shattered and the seven people in it died.

I like to think there's a moral to every story, or, erm, massive tragedy. So what does this lesson teach us, children? Trust yourselves. Rocha says he wishes he'd tried harder to get through to senior officials. "One of my regrets is that I didn't break the door down." So, my precious snow peas, don't be afraid to break those doors down!

This has been Stuff You Should Know.