Rande, The engineers, who know what risks are there, were muzzled by the beurocrats above them.
More and more of a smell is coming off this with each passing day.
Why do we have all these layers of beurocrats who, "cross their fingers", when some tools to see what was going on were at hand.
1... The Military telecopic examination. very doable, may have shown a low resolution area of concern in the wing.
2...An EVA to do a tethered look at the wing. Do not tell me they could not have done that.
As to comments that nothing could have been done, I say, no, we would have mobilised everything to mount a resupply of critical materials. This can go up in a missile launched to get into matchingh close orbit and then be hand carried over. No people needed in the supply vehicle, and that means many possible vehicles could do it as the total mas needed would be 1000 pounds or so.
Thus time would be bought, for either a rescue with another shuttle or ? We will never know what we might have been capable of, some beurocrats knew better.
What a terrible waste....
Bill |
