NASA Decides Against Endeavor Crew Repairs on Heat Shield Gouge

Originally posted by ambushrocks
I do believe that flightcontrol and all the people directly involved do care a lot for the welbeing of the astronauts but you never know how it works in the other layers of this agencie. I think they (or at least part of them) act totally irresponsible towards the astronauts which lives lay in their hands

I tend to agree. Some people are just making a paycheck. There was the incident of the cut wires on computer equipment to be carried on the current flight. That was most likely deliberate but who know what shoddy workmanship get caught and repaired. I bet at NASA contractor sites some people do not really consider how their work affects the big picture.

Originally posted by Now_Then
People have said that shuttles have come back missing entire tiles - is there any general consensus on when the tiles were lost?

Most are lost upon accent as that is the most dangerous part of the mission, in terms of shuttle damage. As I mentioned before Columbia's damage was unique and different yet NASA made the mistake of assuming it was like prior Shuttle damage. Here is one such case where a Shuttle returned back with thermal tiles missing.

STS-103 (December 1999)

Upon close inspection of the orbiter following touchdown, engineers noted that a black tile was missing on the right inboard elevon, next to the fuselage. The missing tile measures 9 inches by 41/2 inches. No significant damage to the orbiter was found and the flight crew was never in any danger due to the missing tile. Initial indications are the tile came off sometime just prior to final approach.

Link

And NASA has considered the effects of a missing thermal tile, look at figure nine.

More quotes from NASA...

After each flight, the orbiter's surface is carefully inspected and all damaged or missing tiles are repaired or replaced. The insulation that fills the gaps between the tiles is also replaced as necessary. Following the flight of STS-1, the heat-resistant tiles were replaced and the Shuttle became the first space vehicle to be reused. Since then, the Shuttle thermal protection system has flown more than a hundred astronaut crews safely. Throughout the Space Shuttle's career, there have been problems with the heat shield tiles. On STS-1, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen noticed that several tiles had fallen off the orbiter's skin sometime after liftoff. Though STS-1, and countless other shuttle missions returned safely to Earth, heat shield tile loss was a constant occurrence. Heat shield tiles were also often easily knocked off by foam falling from the external tank during liftoff.

Link

[edit on 17-8-2007 by WestPoint23]

Hopefully they will be ok,seems a hell of a risk.If they do blow up Bush can blame Iran

joking aside why did they get sent up there when there was the big meteor shower going on?I would have thought Nasa would have waited till it was over just to be safe!

Not the best analogy, but many drivers every day take a chance with tires with slow leaks, embedded nails, oil leaks, and, *gasp*, fuel line leaks. And perhaps every day someone bites the dust because of their negligence. The difference is that most people these days have no expertise whatsoever regarding how well their cars will function under certain adverse conditions, and yet many survive. The space shuttle engineers and crew have many, many years of data and experience dealing with the space shuttle. The shuttle is old and it needs to be retired, but given the cumulative knowledge of all those directly involved with the shuttle returning safely to Earth, I think the chances are still pretty high for a safe return. The percentage is lower, for sure, but it must be pretty high for NASA to have made the call it did. NASA wants and needs for the shuttle to return safely. There's seems to be a good chance that it will.

Originally posted by Areal51
The shuttle is old and it needs to be retired, but given the cumulative knowledge of all those directly involved with the shuttle returning safely to Earth, I think the chances are still pretty high for a safe return. The percentage is lower, for sure, but it must be pretty high for NASA to have made the call it did. NASA wants and needs for the shuttle to return safely. There's seems to be a good chance that it will.

I too believe NASA would try it's best to have a safe return and has the knowledge and decision making capabilities to make the right call. But, remember the Challenger flight. After that bad call I hope management did make the correct decision. Given mankind's space technology versus the forces of nature there is always a chance of disaster. I hope that if another shuttle is ever lost, fingers can't be pointed to a poor or indifferent decision.

Have a safe landing Endeavor.

edit: sp

[edit on 8/17/2007 by roadgravel]

Originally posted by roadgravel
Given mankind's space technology versus the forces of nature there is always a chance of disaster. I hope that if another shuttle is ever lost, fingers can't be pointed to a poor or indifferent decision.

I hear you. It can't be too much fun trying to figure out degrees of damage to something like the Space Shuttle knowing that Nature can sometimes be unforgiving for the slightest error. Godspeed to Endeavour and its crew.

reply to post by WestPoint23


I used to have a car that was like the Shuttle.
All flash, and no pizzazz.



[edit on 18-8-2007 by weatherguru]

Just a heads up that the shuttle has moved the landing schedule up a day, reportedly to try and beat the hurricane. It has already undocked from the International Space Station.

So instead of Landing Aug. 22 it will try to land Aug. 21

Here's a link to one of the reports.

[edit on 8/19/07 by makeitso]

If something goes wrong, this could be not only the end of the shuttle program, but of US participation in international space cooperation. Europe, Russia, China and India will continue without US. NASA will become a local agency, without any scientific importance whatsoever.

watch now.
comming in for a landing....

technology.sympatico.msn.ca...

Well good thing they didn't go boom.

Bout 10min to touchdown now... I bet they had an awesome view of Dean.

What's your vector victor?

she landed all safely - lovely approach camera from the hud - descent at 1000 feet per 4 seconds crossed the threshold at 320 knots and flared to 220 for a landing within margins.

reply to post by Harlequin

I am so relieved. Glad to know everyone made it home safely and that even my gut feelings can be wrong!!