NASA Shuttle Decision: No Repair Needed

This the same old NASA thinking. The kind of thinking that didn't inspect the gash in Columbia. They should go ahead with an attempted repair and evaluate the patch. This so they can at least have tried it once. According to their own testing, it didn't make it worse. Sometimes NASA forgets that they are explorers. "Prudent" was the operative word suggested by one of NASA's contractors. I'm hoping they all return safely.

I’d like to send my condolences to the astronauts’ wives and husband. Your spouses will be missed. They will be considered hero’s and the many people will call this a conspiracy. In-fact it is just bureaucracitic fools failing to act on the advice of their engineers. And it’s the week willed engineers refusing to push management to be prudent for the sake of the lives of the astronauts. And it’s the complacency of flying the shuttle successfully time after time that risks can be taken, thinking the fatal effects will not occur.

Ruling on the side of prudence and caution used to be the NASA way but for the past ten years it has been increasingly driven by politics and empire builders inside NASA.
Must be they have no confidence in their supposed repair materials probably made for NASA in China to save a buck.

"This the same old NASA thinking."

LOL. What part of this is the ENGINEERS saying it doesn't need repair do you two not get?

There will always be some few who say 'repair it anyway', even if it risk is near zero and would actually go UP with the repair, just so they can say 'I told you so', even if any resulting problems had nothing to do with why they said do it, and their 'I told you so' is complete nonsense.

You don't risk people's lives to repair something that doesn't need repair. Any dolt could see from the pics and past pictures that that damage was a non-issue from the first day. They only studied it so much so they wouldn't hear crap from know nothings about how fast they determined it wasn't a problem.

When the shuttle comes back with no problem from this, you're both (and anyone else) expected to go find the nearest pile of dog poo and dig in. If you can spout it you should be person enough to eat it when you're wrong. You're no more engineers than Rosie is a metallurgist..

And recognize something. Blindly saying 'fix it' when you don't know what you're talking about or how to assess the risks makes you JUST LIKE the "bureaucracitic fools" you complain about. An 'always fix it' attitude is JUST AS RETARDED as a 'don't check it' attitude when there are a lot of other factors to consider. The only correct thinking is 'evaluate and choose the correct course of action', and you're clearly not up to that level of thinking.

As a former high reliability test and failure isolationist on the manned and unmanned launch vehicles this problem is in an area of profession I have not professionally worked in I must leave the final decision up to the professionals in that area of expertise and NASA, however I am very dismayed for it appears that many missteps have occurred which hopefully will now be closed. I have considered a few options for treatment of the foam other than what we are using now, but I have zero idea if those are usable, and I hope NASA will return to that sort of research and development. In 1989 or there abouts I introduced a short treatise through U.S. Representative Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder of Colorado what appears to be the “Orion” project, and pushed it again many times with U.S. senator McCain and others. Being a key insider, with background about what is happening in NASA and the political arena it is very difficult to accomplish even the simple issues because of the nature and behavior of our system. For the crew of Endeavour I certainly believe all has been done that can be done and I do not believe you are in serious danger. I thank ABC news for the coverage of this most important matter, and the people for their remarkable posting.

Do the Russia have to repair their ship like we do on every flight..JNB

So NASA is "cautiously optimistic" about the safe return of this shuttle.

Like we were "cautiously optimistic" that the structurally deficient bridge in Minneapolis wouldn't fall down.

Like Mr. Murray was "cautiously optimistic" that retreat mining wouldn't bite him in the butt.

Like we are "cautiously optimistic" that lead paint on Chinese toys, toxic chemicals in Chinese food products, etc, etc, won't kill many of us or our pets.

NASA is whistling in the dark on this, and have so much as admitted that keeping on schedule is why they're blowing off the repair.

In the first two shuttle catastrophes, the losses were total surprises. If this one burns up on reentry, NASA won't be able to say they didn't see it coming, and there will be hell to pay.

This looks like the absolute worst kind of group-think, and suggests that NASA hasn't learned a thing from past mistakes. Some of the statements NASA has made publicly about this are appalling.

Cross your fingers for the crew of Endeavor.

It seems like the danger of EVA is significantly underestimated (no I have never done that, but still)..

It might look like a walk in the park (literally) for us comfortably residing on the Earth but is actually not, I assume. There are too many risks, you could literally lose your lives, and you could also do further damage to the tiles with countless unimaginable (for us) ways.

I guess it's always weighing between risks and benefits. There might be no "win-win" situation, only "lose-lose" situation like those damage control surgeries.

NASA could do a better job explaining - we are like the panicking families in the waiting room of those precious seven "patients."

I am not saying that NASA should obtain permission from us for every action they take, but good communication and "informed consent" could go a long way.

Well, I certainly hope that the NASA engineers are correct in their assessments of the damaged tiles. I realize that any repairs could do more damage in the long run than not doing them, but I still have to wonder if NASA is taking the correct course of action.

I agree you Chuck. Just because you're an engineer, doesn't detract from you being a human being. We're far from perfect and make mistakes all the time, yes, even engineers. Let's just hope that NASA, and the World won't lose another spacecraft in the same manner as the Columbia. Godspeed to our astronauts.

STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!! Even though that area is exposed to less heat than the wings, the additional drag friction will heat it up more. I know NASA has probably factored this in but dang we don't need another disaster. That's a big hole on the ship!! Dumb!!

It is important to remember we don't have all the information. Everything in life is a series of calculated risks.

In regards to the Columbia disaster, if you read the report (of which I have only read parts) damaged and broken tiles are a fairly routine part of being launched out of the atmosphere strapped to a violent combustion chamber. The shuttle orbiter has landed with tiles completely missing before.

I for one must withhold judgment on the decision because I don't have all the information.

I do not envy the position these engineers or anyone having to defend against "armchair astronauts." Ventur I am deeply saddened by your cynicism. I whole heartedly disagree with you in regards to the complacency issue.

Risk is a huge part of space exploration, both manned and unmanned, something that NASA is unable to run from.

Durham's rock hard putty even works in space?

I just wonder why NASA does not at least TRY some sort of repair. If at least as a preventitive measure to ensure the crews saftey during re-entry. If the shuttle burns/breaks up during the re-entry I will be one of those who wont be surprised by it. On the other hand, if it doesnt...NASA better start using those titanium parts that dont require foam asap to stop it from be a continuing nuisance.

Will this be our second teacher lost on a space shuttle?

I think they can even loss several entire tiles and it is still no problem. Its just those leading edge tiles that are so critical

If we lose all telemetry on re-entry then the answer would be "We should have repaired the tile".

if it burns up, teachers in space will be a combined 0-2.

Everybody take a few more whacks at the NASA piñata. We're all so superior, aren't we? Our intellectual capabilities far exceed the training, education & experience of those stupid aerospace engineers. Yes, these sensitive comments which offer condolences to the families of the Endeavour crew are so instructive, caring & helpful. MENSA is calling, they've rejected your application.

NASA is STILL grieving the loss of the Columbia crew. They were family & friends. Their sacrifice has helped to enact critical improvements to assess the seriousness of damage to the orbiter. Now, with the aid of numerous cameras, detailed analysis & INDEPENDENT review inspections are conducted by large teams of experts. This damage is not the iceberg for the Titanic, but an ice cube.

A non-critical repair in space would be risky, possibly creating GREATER DAMAGE that WOULD jeopardize the crew. Why doesn't anybody comprehend the science? NASA puts the SAFETY of the crew FIRST. Would you hang out a moving vehicle to repair a rock chip to your windshield? I fear some of the morons on this message board would!

Unfortunately bureaucrats only grieve when they get caught doing something wrong. This is the same NASA that made improvements after the Apollo fire only to become complacent and allow Challenger to fail because they were too intent on meeting a 24 shuttle launch per year commitment. This is the same NASA that dismissed the astronaut safety board formed after Challenger because they had become inconvienent. I have done extensive studies of the NASA management structure and the nature of "can do" enirvonments. These typically lead good people to make decisions and commitments that prove later unsound. It would be sensible to apply the sealant and test it under actual conditions. The risk to the crew and ship are small compared to the potential loss of ship and crew should the earthbound test scenarios be inadequately designed.