re: Feb 1 is 15th anniversary of the Columbia disaster

quote:

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Seven astronauts slipped into unconsciousness within seconds and their bodies were whipped around in seats whose restraints failed as the space shuttle Columbia spun out of control and disintegrated in 2003, according to a new report from NASA.

While the astronauts’ upper bodies flailed, the helmets that were supposed to protect them ended up battering their skulls, the report said, and “lethal trauma occurred to the unconscious or deceased crew due to the lack of upper-body support and restraint.”

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