[freepersup]

It's painful to have to read the reasoning and defensive explanations behind the decision not to press forward with any ground or space based imagery inspections.

Yes it's hindsight now- but it wasn't then.

As a former parachute rigger and freefall parachutist, the rigger motto has served me well. I WILL BE SURE ALWAYS. Hard to beat that one.

Using this axiom, if someone on the team needs to tap into the spy satelite network in order to see the shuttle "to be sure", then that's what the agency needs to make happen.

Let's suppose a satelite camera provided an image to NASA that showed damage which would be of a fatal nature. In this example let's stick with the known debris strike location- RCC's # 5,6,& 7. What's the solution ?

Might the shuttle be positioned upon re-entry in such a way as to shield the left wing's leading edge from the intense re-entry heat ? I don't see a way to do it. Initially, I was thinking about the possibility of a flight configuration where the shuttle is banked in such a way that the left wing is out of the slip stream or relative wind enough to shield it from the plasma at the re-entry interface. To do so would expose other areas of the shuttle, which lack the proper thermal protection, to the re-entry heat.

[brityank]

Might the shuttle be positioned upon re-entry in such a way as to shield the left wing's leading edge from the intense re-entry heat ? I don't see a way to do it.

I don't know enough about flying the shuttle, but I don't think that I would have made the decision, knowing there was potential fatal damage, to bring it down without trying everything and anything to rescue the crew. Columbia was sent up as if it were a simple camping trip up in the hills. No thought or provision was made for them all to exit the craft even if a second shuttle had been sent up. The docking collar, EVA suits, cherry-picker arm; none of them on this flight. The two suits they had were umbilical-attached, not self-contained; they were limited to whatever tether length the oxygen supply provided.

A remote controlled camera was designed and built and tested; why isn't that standard on every craft? Guessing that the foam strike didn't cause critical damage, based on poorly visioned distant optical cameras at liftoff is pitiful. Not equipping the MMU and training a couple of the crew to use it is deplorable. Sitting in a nice air-conditioned office deciding that the crew wouldn't be able to effect some type of repair on the tiles is short-sighted neglect. Hell, I can get cheese out of a pressurized can; I'm sure some type of ablative foam could be rigged to cover some tiles.

Still, I do have the reality of knowing, that under all of the circumstances this crew was sent up under, just maybe it is better for them, if not us, that they had no inkling of their impending doom. I tear up each time I read through the time line of their descent and can hear the excitement in the words from McCool, Husband, Clark, and Chawla nattering about the plasma displays through the windows. God rest their souls.