Re: Insteon now or wait?

[Frank Olson <Use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert L Bass wrote:

>
> The horror of it was that even while Columbia was in orbit some of the NASA
> engineers warned that the damage might cause a disaster.  Management decided
> not to investigate the damage more fully.  Had they done so the disaster
> might have been prevented.

There was no way to repair the damage in orbit even *if* the
investigated it more fully and were able to determine that a re-entry
attempt was out of the question.  There was no way for Columbia to link
up with the space station (they didn't have the fuel to perform the
maneuver that would even put them in the same orbit).  There was no time
to prepare a second orbiter to rescue the crew before their oxygen ran
out (and the possibility of similar damage occurring was just too
great).  The crew of the Columbia was doomed from the moment that chunk
of foam came loose.