Igor Lissov wrote: > As the separation occured later than > Ted Molczan thought it would be great if he returned > to his analysis and amended it. The separation was later than I had assumed, but not as late as implied by the OIG elset of 2003-003B, as I discussed here: http://satobs.org/seesat/Apr-2003/0080.html In my analysis of the debris (aka the mystery object), which is available at the URL below, I allowed for the possibility that it could have separated later. See the second to last paragraph of Section 2: http://www.satobs.org/columbia/STS107mysteryobject.html "It is worth noting that if I had assumed that separation occurred close to the time of the first observation, then the rate of decay would have been about 10 percent greater. The uncertainty of the time of decay (i.e. the location over the S. Pacific) results in +/-10 percent uncertainty in my estimate of the rate of decay." Last night, I analysed the OIG elset using the same method as in Section 3 of my report, and found that A/m was 0.049 m^2/kg - about 20 percent greater than the value derived from my estimated elset, well within the uncertainty in the rate of decay. One of my correspondents has obtained a value of 0.051 m^2/kg, using a different, probably more accurate method. Increasing the A/m to 0.049 m^2/kg or 0.051 m^2/kg does not change any of my findings concerning the possible identity of the mystery object. The A/m best fits the densest elements of a shuttle's thermal protection system: a fragment of an RCC panel or an aluminium carrier panel without its tiles. Caution to readers: discussion of the significance of the mystery object to the Columbia accident investigation is off-topic on SeeSat-L, but on-topic for Columbia-L. To subscribe to Columbia-L, send a message with the word subscribe as the subject to Columbia-L-request@satobs.org Ted Molczan ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from SeeSat-L, send a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org List archived at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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