Discovery: To Crash or Not to Crash?

A large part of me tells me that Discovery is going to crash on re-entry. Another smaller portion of me is telling me that Discovery is going to re-enter the earths atmosphere with minor problems, nothing out of the ordinary. They have checked over the entire craft after leaving the earths atmosphere, maybe they're not doomed.

It's just that NASA hasn't been proving itself very well since the late 90's. They have been screwing up on very minor things that end up causing very large problems (ex. One team measures in metric the other in Feet.).

Who thinks Discovery is doomed and who thinks Discovery will be fine? Let me know your thoughts.

I think Discovery will be fine, something like what happened in Columbia only happened once in 113 flights. The slight problems being seen on Discovery are only being focused on because of the heightened scrutiny.

There is a good chance that it won't, but there is also a chance the shuttle could crash. The one certainty is that the shuttle fleet should be retired.

i think that everything will go as planned and that they will get back safely.
they are probably just being extra cautious..

Originally posted by rufi0o
There is a good chance that it won't, but there is also a chance the shuttle could crash. The one certainty is that the shuttle fleet should be retired.

A 50/50 bet eh. NASA better get that tin can back in one piece. One of my countryman depends on it.

Of course, a third possibility would be that, upon examination and consideration, Discovery is deemed unsafe to fly and the crew is directed to hang out at the ISS until sufficient Soyuz modules can be launched to return them to Earth.

I know, it's nowhere near as dramatic as a "will they or won't they burn up" re-entry, and it would spell the end of future Shuttle flights as assuredly as a flaming crash, but it is a logical alternative.

Especially if NASA is finally truly concerned about safety.

Originally posted by Bhadhidar
Of course, a third possibility would be that, upon examination and consideration, Discovery is deemed unsafe to fly and the crew is directed to hang out at the ISS until sufficient Soyuz modules can be launched to return them to Earth.

I know, it's nowhere near as dramatic as a "will they or won't they burn up" re-entry, and it would spell the end of future Shuttle flights as assuredly as a flaming crash, but it is a logical alternative.

Especially if NASA is finally truly concerned about safety.

yes it is a "logical alternative"...and something that they should do if they believe it is unsafe to land...also i dont know much about space travel or whatever catagorey this lands in but- why couldnt they just fix the missing foam peace(s)????
any way best of wishes to the crew

I think it'll be fine. They have a number of safety measures put into place, and they should be more than sufficient. From being able to repair any kind of damage to taking pictures of the tiles to check them for any damage, they're far better suited than ever before.

As for the future of NASA, I have no comment.

I think it will crash, 100%.

I hope not though.

This is rocket science, there is always a chance of failure.

Remote viewer Ed Dames was briefly interviewed by George Noory on Coast to Coast the other night. Dames claims to be about 80% accurate on his remote viewing on future event.

Dames says Discovery will have trouble on re-entry from its present mission. Hopefully Ed Dames is wrong this time..

Dallas

Originally posted by Dallas

Remote viewer Ed Dames was briefly interviewed by George Noory on Coast to Coast the other night. Dames claims to be about 80% accurate on his remote viewing on future event.

Dames says Discovery will have trouble on re-entry from its present mission. Hopefully Ed Dames is wrong this time..

Thanks for the tidbit. This post was getting me to believe there would not be any problems upon re-entry... then i came to your reply.

i hope those guys make it alright when they come back. Although i really do hate astronauts.. it's more of a jealousy thing though.

Originally posted by Delusions and Grandeur
i dont know much about space travel or whatever catagorey this lands in but- why couldnt they just fix the missing foam peace(s)????

any way best of wishes to the crew

It's not the foam that's missing, it's what causes the damage to the ceramic tiles. Each tile is a custom shape, so if they brought tiles with them for replacing, they'd pretty much have to bring one of each.

But they did bring equipment on board to test the repairing of tiles. It was the main goal of there mission.

The present concern seems to be focused moreso around the thin cloth fiber that is packed between the gaps in the tiles. From what I gather it acts as a form of sealant/caulking between the edges of surrounding tiles to help prevent any super-heated gasses from directly contacting the shuttle?s hull by seeping between the individual tiles.

I truly hope all goes well upon reentry . . . keeping fingers crossed.


On another note:

The problem of foam "falling off" the external fuel tank only became an issue after they switched to a different method of applying the foam to the tank. This was supposedly done to use a method/type that would be more environmentally friendly. Seems that ever since they made the change there has been nothing but problems....

N E WAY?!

Hoping they all get back safe and sound.


[edit on 2-8-2005 by 12m8keall2c]

I'm sure it will land with no problems, and a nother shuttle will be back in space in a few months.

The thing people seem to forget whenever they talk about scrapping the shuttle is the ISS...it cant build itself, the shuttle is the only thing that can carry up some of those larger loads, the tiny Russian soyuz wont do anything.

Originally posted by flipjargendy
It's just that NASA hasn't been proving itself very well since the late 90's. They have been screwing up on very minor things that end up causing very large problems (ex. One team measures in metric the other in Feet.).

thats kinda a cheap shot...since i'm assuming your referring to the Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999, which likely burned up in Mars' atmosphere because Lockheed Martin (not Nasa) did its trajectory using american measurments like feet and pounds, while Nasa (along with nearly everyone else) uses the more globably used metric system.

With the seemingly endless supply of "negative" media concerning the shuttle, minds tends to drift to the "its gonna be bad" side.

The media is most likely trying to make the events seem worse than they actually are.

In my opinion though, it is looking a bit risky, but I believe they will make it.

I hope everything is alright, with reentry, a fellow Australian depends on it.

I do have a feeling that we will see a repeat of the Columbia disaster. I don't know why, I just have this ominous feeling.

@Bhadhidar
I was under the impression that if the Discovery crew were to be stranded on the ISS, NASA would launch another shuttle to rescue them.

I also thought that this was to be the last shuttle mission before the entire fleet was grounded.

Well if you heard it on Art Bell, you can bet its true!

Its sad how many of you do not understand just how dangerous spaceflight is.

Its 30 year old technology......

Think of each flight as a test flight with no parachute....


and by the way, I dont see ANY other countries with anything close....


Its dangerous and never foolproof, but some of you just want the US to fail no matter what.

Up in flames is my guess. I hope not but theres a gut feeling involved that this is gonna be NASA's final 15 mins.

Far to many of you think its gonna burn up...Probably because of the way the media spins it, to make it seem like its on its last leg and its about to trip.

I am 99% confident that it will come back fine.

Nasa says that the tiles are fine...I dont know why you trust "your gut feeling" when people, cameras, lasers, and radars say other wise.