[ale] OT: Space Shuttle Columbia

[attriel]

>> The bottom is smooth. Nowhere to hold on/attach to. Adding attachment
>> points would result in an unacceptable amount of friction at that
>> point and would likely result in the same thing we saw Saturday.
>
> I know that the bottom is smooth.  But, we all know that they've had the
> MMU for YEARS and it's not very big; why is it not standard equipment?
> It needs no attachment points.  Barring that, what about slinging some
> nylon rope.  Why was there no EVA suit?

B/c the EVA suit is expensive, they weren't using it, and thus there was
no point in sending it up?  It's also heavy, which makes it stupid to send
up if they're not using it?

>> Can't fix it.
>
> Point taken, but could they not fix it because it's IMPOSSIBLE or
> because they didn't have a few pounds of tools or parts?

This isn't like slapping a patch on your blown tire and then inflating it
long enough to drive to a shop.  This is a spacecraft going through the
atmosphere ...

IF they had the tools and the spare tiles ... they were still kinda
lacking the ground crew and cradle to do repairs properly ?  They were
lacking the expertise to know how to do it?  And even if they'd managed to
slap something on, there'd be a 75% or higher chance of it catching on
re-entry, and exactly the same thing happening.

Then all the armchair "space experts who know more than NASA" would be
complaining about them doing a repair that wasn't 100% necessary b/c maybe
they coulda made it otherwise :o

>> Can't
>> re-enter any other way.
>
> I am not satisfied of that.  When you say "any other way," you mean with
> a normal wheel landing at the Cape or at Edwards.  I am not satisfied
> that, knowing serious damage was present, that an abnormal re-entry
> wasn't an option, even if it meant a mid-ocean ditch.  Besides, there
> are emergency runways all over the world - IIRC, Dobbins is one.

I think "any other way" meant "they still have to come in through the
atmosphere and build up a couple hundred degrees of heat which is probably
what caused it to break this time."

But why don't you call up NASA and tell them what they're doing wrong.  I
can get you the phone #'s if you want

>> Can't dock at the ISS. Can't just fire up Atlantis
>> and send them a ride. They took their chances and lost. That's life on
>> the edge. The same thing happens in military aviation, just on a much
>> smaller scale. You put your fate in the hands of the Almighty and do
>> your job as ordered.
>
> I'm not sure of your point.  This was not a military mission nor was it
> an all-military crew.

You're right.  Kalpana Chawla wasn't military.  OTOH, she'd had nearly 400
hours in space, so I'm thinking she'd probably just about figured out the
risks of sitting on a set of rockets for launch, and re-entry probably
wasn't flat and smooth any of the other times either ...

--attriel

(I try to stay out of these things, but this is getting ridiculous with
everyone stating how NASA "eff'd up" and it GRR!)


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