[Atlas Sneezed]

Maybe this time they can get the foam colored white like it's supposed to be.

---

My understand is that the white color was paint, and the change to orange was associated with elimiating the paint to save weight, well before the foam material change.

[Little Pig]

Yes, I know originally it was paint. However, IMHO the shuttle just looked better all one color. My meaning was that, if they can go back to the original foam, maybe this time they can get it formulated so it is white to match the rest of the orbiter. Heck, wasn't there some incident recently where some high-dollar program used some cheap OTS item and it turned out to work better than the expensive stuff they had had custom-made for the program? Maybe they can use that spray-on foam caulk to insulate the tank. You know, the stuff you use to fill spaces in walls and make "custom" shipping padding?

I do not know what is preventing this, other than maybe the threat of a lawsuit (the original change was motivated by a lawsuit IIRC).