wrote in news:1155672543.113127.4200@
74g2000cwt.googlegroups.com:

Brian Thorn wrote:
I'm not sure why they should even
bother replacing the bolts, which have
flown every Atlantis mission to date.

Atlantis has flown 26 missions to date. The SRBs had flown
successfully 24 times before destroying Challenger. Ignoring a
potentially catastrophic problem on the grounds that you got away with
it before, isn't always a safe bet.

If fixing the bolts became a problem which would incur a delay, I'd be
tempted to just install a net under the antenna. That way if it does
fall, it won't go far. Then fix it properly on landing.

Out of interest, if the antenna had fallen on one of Atlantis's
previous flights, crashing into the engine compartment resulting in
loss of vehicle and crew, would we ever know what happened?

Probably not. On the other hand, it's highly unlikely the antenna would
make it that far in the first place. On the current flight, the P3/P4 truss
takes up most of the diameter of the bay, so the antenna would most likely
lodge between the truss and the starboard payload bay door. Same for
previous flights - on most of them there was at least one large payload
that would have obstructed a falling antenna from hitting the aft bulkhead.

The biggest concern with the antenna falling is that it could penetrate the
freon coolant loops in the radiators that line the insides of the payload
bay doors. That wouldn't be an immediate catastrophe but it would require
the orbiter to re-enter and land at the first opportunity.

--
JRF

Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail,
check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and
think one step ahead of IBM.