In article ,
says...
What are they going to do about CRATER?

Are they going to re-evaluate / retest and update it with new information?

Are they going to abandon it?

Are they going to continue to use it within its existing limitations /
parameters?

Are they going to add a second tool to handle whatever CRATER is not
designed to do?

What happens if they come across a hit outside of the scope of CRATER --
get engineers to do the calculations by hand and run computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) sims?

I haven't heard much about what NASA intends to do with CRATER, so got to
wondering.

Was wondering because was thinking... next time they catch debris falling
off, what then? What if it's outside the scope of CRATER? Are they going to
make any CRATER update as a prereq for RTF?

CRATER was designed to let the people on the ground guesstimate the
amount of damage when debris is observed coming off the ET and striking
the orbiter.

Now they will, on every flight, closely inspect the TPS (the tiles and
RCC, especially) with video cameras. So there won't be any need to use
CRATER to guesstimate damage -- you'll observe all damage directly. No
more guesswork required.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for | Doug Van Dorn
thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup |