You do not just shave thirty days off of the prelaunch schedule without consequence.
With conservation, starting early, the crew of the Columbia could have lasted at least that long.
And I pointed out that the Shuttle would be crewed for over six weeks...whereupon you said:
Astronaut Hammond thought it could be readied in a week.
Which brings me back to the point that you do not shave almost an entire month off of the launch prep without serious consequences.
You're arguing both sides at the same time, whichever is useful for bashing NASA. Are you a trial lawyer?
Which brings me back to the point that you do not shave almost an entire month off of the launch prep without serious consequences.
The point of Hammond I think is that the essential functions of a launch can be checked through in a week - it's the particular, many and varied additional tasks associated with testing and loading experiements,cargo, etc. to suit the "customers" dominate the checklist. Of course to stow rescue equipment to the cargo bay, practice emergency procedures should take extra time, but many tasks can take place in parallel and some rescue items (rescue balls) can be loaded at launch time.
In summary, a basic launch with two crew, is an established procedure and barring equipemtn problems can go smoothly.
Also in this particular instance the Atlantis has been checked out thouroughly over previous concerns and is ready to fly soon.