----- Original Message -----
From: "M. Adam Davis" wrote:
>
> >it looks like the request for satelite imagery, to inspect the left wing,
> >was turned down
> >
> >
> They requested one, which was in process.  The engineers then assured
> the decision makers that no relevant damage was even possible with the
> foam, therefore the decision was made to cancel it in the interest of
> time and money on the air force's part.
>
> >Why is an EVA is so problematic?
> >
This surpises me, in hindsight of course.  I've heard that what they call
foam is more like concrete.


> >
> They didn't have the EVA equipment on board (for space/weight savings),
> they didn't have the shuttle arm on board (same reason), they have space
> suits, but there are no places to get a good view of the affected areas
> without losing hold of the ship.
>
> It's possible, I suppose, to attach rope to oneself and float free in
> the direction of the view you want, but there still exists huge dangers
> of ramming into the shuttle and causing damage to oneself and/or the
> ship.  It may not have been considered, or was discarded as too risky.
>
> Besides, the ground photos would have been safer, cheaper, quicker, etc,
> and they were still too 'expensive' somehow to be used based on the
> evaluation of the engineers.
>
> This was a tragedy, but there was no one big failure on any person's
> part.  It was a series of tiny errors and miscalculations which ended up
> in disaster.  If they had the photos or the EVA, they may have shown so
> little visible damage that they might have decided to land anyway.  If
> the damage was visible they would still have had to decide whether it
> was enough damage to not risk a re-entry based on the only other option
> being sending another shuttle up (risky) and repairing it (probably not
> reasonable given the time frame) or off-loading the passengers and
> bringing them back down (again, time would be an issue since new seating
> would have to be constructed without lengthy testing, R&D, etc).
>
I thought the jet packs were on board as part of the standard equipment, I
didn't consider this.

And my 'walk around' idea may not really be worth it.  The damage may well
have been hidden.  But with visible damage, found.  They could have parked
in orbit, sent up a shuttle with a crew of just two, with everything needed
to recover the crew either to earth or to the space station.

And then remotely recovered comlumbia.  It can do this, can't it?

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