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Pastimes : Shuttle Columbia STS-107
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To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (244)2/3/2003 9:03:16 PM
From: Clarksterh  Read Replies (1) of 627
 
Y'all - The problem is that you are assuming that NASA knows when something is adequate and when it is not. That it is an exact, or even imprecise, science. It isn't. I've done similar fault analyses and it is an art.

As for the concept of doing space walks with just a tether - this isn't Buck Rogers or Star Trek. You and the rope have to have something to push/rub against and the only thing out there is fragile tile.

As for the concept of transferring to the Space Station, I do not know what orbit the shuttle was in relative to the ISS but I'd be willing to bet that any attempted transfer would have been over thousands of miles and at miles per second. (i.e. not possible)

As for the concept of using military assets, well who knows but keep in mind that the shuttle is travelling miles per second and could be many hundreds or thousands of miles away. They might see the shuttle, but individual tiles??

The only possible solution would have been to do something before launch like have some way to see and fix a missing tile. But that is extremely difficult since the tiles are soo damn finicky.

Bottom line - space travel is dangerous. And you can absolutely count on the fact that the astronauts know it. They choose the risk. So do we - anybody who is paying attention. And it will not be 'safe' anytime in our lifetimes; it can just be made safer. There is just too darn much energy involved.

Clark
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