Columbia's Sacrifice Mission Statement 

The reasons for creating this website

This site is not here for the sole purpose of disagreeing with the C.A.I.B. or promoting any government conspiracy theories.

02/20/2003

The purpose of this site is to stimulate scientific debate about what caused the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and her crew.  I was not involved in the space shuttle program and I am not a certified expert in any of the fields discussed on this site.  Further, I am restricted to using data and technical reports currently available on the internet and from main stream media sources.  For these reasons I do not believe that I can necessarily determine the exact cause of the shuttle disaster better than a team of certified experts who have access to the actual shuttle wreckage.  However, I have a degree in mechanical engineering and a great deal of experience determining failure modes of various mechanical and electronic systems.  I will be analyzing available data and technical reports for failure patterns or conflicts with established theories.  I am starting the analysis with an objective view and no clear or firm ideas as to the cause of the shuttle loss.  If I do post some theories, I plan to support them with whatever evidence I can find.  If you e-mail me with comments I will welcome all points of view and any data, even that which refutes any theories I have posted.  Although anything may be possible, I will not be posting any theories that involve the following, (extraterrestrial spacecraft, foreign or domestic conspiracies, supernatural events, or numerology (the adding of numbers such as dates, flight numbers etc.).  I believe that using the tragedy in this manner does a tremendous disservice to the memory of the seven astronauts who died, and can only serve to hurt their families further.  If reasonable evidence indicates that any of these theories should be debated I will then consider them for posting.

Looking Back on the Investigation

Summary of Findings

02/15/2004

Exactly one year to the day after starting this investigation a conclusion section has been completed which appears to satisfy all of the individual findings.  It is important to note that all the evidence collected for this investigation was found on the internet.  Anyone with additional data, even that which refutes these conclusions is encouraged to bring it to the attention of this website via email.  Anyone noticing areas where the reasoning or methodology is flawed are also encouraged to contact this website.

This website is structured in a modular fashion as is the investigation itself.  The final conclusions are supported by several complete and independent sections.  Each of these sections contains data of vastly different types taken from a wide range of sources.  The analytical method used within each of the supporting sections depends on whatever may be appropriate for the data type.  Occasionally when the data type is either visual or eyewitness accounts, simple logical reasoning may be enough to support a theory.  Other data types may be, geodetic position @ time, velocity @ time, altitude @ time, atmospheric properties @ altitude, reentry events @ time, and or, position, etc.  All of these and other miscellaneous data types are pertinent to the investigation.

This modular structure allows the reader to buy into or accept some of the final conclusions even if he or she does not accept all of them.  An additional possibility is that the reader or researcher does not agree with any of the conclusions contained within Columbia's Sacrifice, but cannot find fault with the analysis done on at least one or more of the subsections.  This may help to support their own conclusions developed before or during the examination of this website.  All of this helps in the sharing of information and the proliferation of theories and ideas which was the original intent behind the development of this website.

	Summary of Website Findings
	Final Conclusions

Overview of the Website Findings and Their Importance

People who come to this site may read some of the conclusions and either not take is seriously or reject it outright because the official report, STS-107 Final Report Vol. I through VI, is an extraordinarily large document created by a panel of experts who spent an enormous amount of time and money investigating the incident.  However, if someone were to really take the time to think about just two of the eight findings listed above they might find themselves questioning the conclusions of the official investigation.  In particular the information and findings regarding, 1.) The OEX Data Recorder and  2.) The Altitude Discrepancy.  These are based on solid research and engineering methods or logical reasoning that have held true for past investigations.  Those two discoveries are also the most damning evidence indicating an effort to cover-up what actually happened to the Columbia and the seven Astronauts depending on her to get them home safely.  If you cannot easily explain away those two findings then you must begin to question the rest of the official final report.