Could Columbia have been Saved?

"Michael J Wise" wrote in message
...
Maybe that means an "Abort To Station" scenario

No such thing, and not possible on this flight. If you think otherwise,
let's see your math supporting the orbital mechanics necessary.

But the plans should have been there, in place and documented

If it's that easy, why didn't *you* say something beforehand? Your silence
about something that you think is so easy makes you personally just as
responsible.
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"Michael R. Grabois ... change $ to "s"" wrote
in message ...
Yes, it's obvious you have no idea "how things really work". We don't have
magic telemetry analysis, we don't have unlimited sensors placed
everywhere on
the vehicle

Sensors aren't free- they have weight and add still more data to the
monumental stream that already has to be analyzed. In fact the main reason
why we have so much data on the breakup is because the craft was Columbia,
which still had a great many of its initial flight test sensors in place (in
part because it cost more to remove them than the possible benefit of more
payload). That's also why the imaginary "abort to station" scenario wasn't
possible- Columbia is the heaviest and least capable shuttle precisely
because it was the first flight article, and simply can't deliver enough
payload to the station to make the trip worthwhile, which is why the other
shuttles made regular trips.

It's easy to cry for more data- just write a big enough check to cover the
additional personnel to analyze it. The faster you want it, the more people
you need, and it's not linear. Money is the real cause of the problem, and
the root cause of that is Congress, which means the American taxpayer. It's
easy enough for people to **** and moan, but when it comes to putting their
money where their mouth is they just whine. If you want more magic
telemetry, start paying for it. If you want to keep whining, at least make a
minimal effort to do some homework first- and that means spending some time
*offline* working out the math.
--
If you have had problems with Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC),
please contact shredder at bellsouth dot net. There may be a class-action
lawsuit
in the works.

In article ,
says...
"Michael J Wise" wrote in message
...
Maybe that means an "Abort To Station" scenario

No such thing, and not possible on this flight. If you think otherwise,
let's see your math supporting the orbital mechanics necessary.

But the plans should have been there, in place and documented

If it's that easy, why didn't *you* say something beforehand? Your silence
about something that you think is so easy makes you personally just as
responsible.

No, not possible on this flight, but I see no reason it couldn't have
been. Why wouldn't/shouldn't every shuttle flight, in support of IIS or
not, not be launched so as to be able to reach the station if need be?
That orbit requires more fuel, restricts launch windows, but so what?
Trail the IIS and have a place to go.

Marc