9 Apr
2001
9 Apr
'01
9:06 a.m.
There is some disagreement about jettisoning the
radome. Not sure what
made it fall off, but it is only a fiberglass bubble over a radar
transceiver. Not terribly sturdy because it has to be transparent to
radar waves. It is only there to protect the antennae and for aerodynamic
purposes.
I think what bugs me the most about that missing radome is that the radar
emitter and hydraulic actuator(or fixed mount if the emitter is for a
phased array system) seems to be missing as well. The picture I
saw (admittedly on TV) didn't show much if any damage to that first
station that the emitter assembly gets bolted to. This makes me think
that it was removed post-landing...
g.