[KantianBurke]

No need to take this all so personally. No one has accused YOU of complicity in neglience or murder. This is all theoretical but useful. If problems are not correctly identified and solved, they will only reappear.

While you have a point regarding the Atlantis emergency launch, it therefore begs the question if NASA considered such a launch impractical what WERE their other options in this situation? Or were they content to simply cross fingers? They should have taken a page out of the Boy Scouts motto: Be Prepared.

[Poohbah]

While you have a point regarding the Atlantis emergency launch, it therefore begs the question if NASA considered such a launch impractical what WERE their other options in this situation?

Unless we had 8 shuttles running on the same overall program OPTEMPO as the 4 we had, we really didn't have any options.

Or were they content to simply cross fingers? They should have taken a page out of the Boy Scouts motto: Be Prepared.

NASA gets less money than dairy subsidies do. There isn't a lot that they can do to "Be Prepared."