"Roger Balettie" wrote in
Ouch... I totally disagree. I would rather come up with some *other*
solution than not closing these potential "plasma entry points" ASAP!!!!

From what I recall, these are closed very soon after ET sep to make sure
that the Orbiter is in a good "come back home" config underneath. I
wouldn't want to risk that for photography purposes past the ET photos.

There have to be other ways...


Could be. Good point on the hazards of keeping them open, but don't forget
that now we're not stuck with the trash-bag-on-a-line desperation EVA access
for manual close. So we have MUCH more ability to manually close them in
case of trouble.