NASA Supports Train-Derailment Recovery in Alabama

What with a 3 month old grand daughter in the house I have been
distracted and off the computer of late.

Kendall Johnson sent me a note about a train derailment carrying parts
of the solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle.

Appreciate you folks keeping me awake to what is happening.

Thanks Kendall.
- LRK -

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On 5/2/07, Kendall Johnson  wrote:
Hey Larry

Didn't know if you'd heard about this yet.
Wanted to give you a "heads-up" if you haven't.

              Kendall

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DEMOPOLIS, Alabama. -- NASA has sent teams to the scene of a train
derailment in Alabama where a freight train carrying parts of the solid
rocket boosters for the space shuttle left the tracks.

The derailment occurred after a bridge collapsed at about 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday. Six people were reported hurt.

The equipment was on its way to Florida. There were eight separate
motors on
the train, which had 14 or 15 cars devoted to the NASA shipment.

Each motor weighs about 300,000 pounds.

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http://www.wapt.com/news/13244492/detail.html
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Out here in the San Francisco Bay area we had a gasoline tanker flip,
catch fire, explode, and meltdown a freeway connector ramp.
- LRK -

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http://www.nbc11.com/news/13217764/detail.html
Tanker Explosion Causes Bay Bridge Maze Collapse
Two connector ramps of the Bay Bridge MacArthur Maze (map)
<http://www.nbc11.com/news/13217764/detail.html#>, located near
Emeryville, collapsed Sunday morning after an explosion and fire.

Heat from the fire, which reached temperatures estimated at up to 2,000
degrees Fahrenheit, caused the metal bolts and girders on the highway
connector ramp above to melt. The overpass then gave way and collapsed.

The tanker truck driver was driving from westbound Interstate 80 to
southbound Interstate 880.
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A bridge collapses and a train tips over.  A truck tips over, and a
connector ramp collapses.

Hauling materials on Earth can be tricky.

Hauling materials to the Moon will have risks as well.

One will need to be prepared for the unexpected.

Ramps being repaired, train accident being investigated, life goes on.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update

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If I would read all my e-mails I would have seen that NASA News reported
the accident as well.
- LRK -
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NASA Supports Train-Derailment Recovery in Alabama
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/may/HQ_07097_Train_Derailment.html

May 2, 2007

Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749

Kyle Herring
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111

RELEASE: 07-97

NASA SUPPORTS TRAIN-DERAILMENT RECOVERY IN ALABAMA

WASHINGTON - Officials from NASA and ATK Launch Systems, Edina, Minn.,
are assisting the Federal Railroad Administration during its
investigation of a train derailment Wednesday morning near
Pennington, Ala. The train was carrying space shuttle reusable solid
rocket motor segments from the ATK Launch Systems manufacturing site
in Brigham City, Utah, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

"Several members of the NASA family were injured in this serious
accident. Today our prayers are for those who have been injured and
their families. Our employees work in hazardous jobs every day, and
it is our goal to keep them safe," said NASA's Space Shuttle Program
Manager Wayne Hale.

The special train carrying only solid rocket motor segments and a
passenger car to monitor their transportation was crossing a bridge
or a trestle, which collapsed under the locomotives. Six people were
injured when the two locomotives and the passenger car dropped about
10 feet and turned on their sides.

One of the cars carrying a solid rocket motor segment is also on its
side. The remaining cars containing seven solid rocket motor segments
and two aft exit cone segments are upright.

The hardware was intended for use on shuttle Discovery's STS-120
mission in October and shuttle Atlantis's STS-122 mission in
December. These segments are interchangeable, and ATK Launch Systems
has replacement units that could be used for the shuttle flights, if
necessary.

Each segment weighs approximately 300,000 lbs. and is protected by a
white or yellow colored fiberglass cover during shipment. The
condition of the rocket motor segments will be assessed as soon as
teams conduct a full inspection. Solid Rocket Motor segments have
been transported across country by rail for more than 26 years with
an excellent record of safe transportation. For information about the
Space Shuttle Program, visit:

www.nasa.gov/shuttle

-end-

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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