No RCC Repair Kit for Next Shuttle Flight?

In article at:

"http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/030825sts114/"

about planning for next shuttle flight, the following appears.

"(A) tile repair kit will be located at the back of the shuttle's
cargo bay and feature a panel of deliberately damaged heat shield
tiles. The spacewalkers will attempt to repair the tiles using
materials and procedures currently in the development stage.

"The work does not yet include any sort of repair demonstration
for reinforced carbon carbon panels making up the orbiter's wing
leading edges. While promising procedures are under study, it's
not yet clear whether any repair techniques can be developed in
time for a flight next spring."

How can NASA justify flying a space shuttle mission before an
RCC repair is available? Didn't CAIB just prove that damaged
RCC caused the Colombia failure?

- Ed Kyle

ed kyle wrote:

In article at:

"http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/030825sts114/"

about planning for next shuttle flight, the following appears.

"(A) tile repair kit will be located at the back of the shuttle's
cargo bay and feature a panel of deliberately damaged heat shield
tiles. The spacewalkers will attempt to repair the tiles using
materials and procedures currently in the development stage.

"The work does not yet include any sort of repair demonstration
for reinforced carbon carbon panels making up the orbiter's wing
leading edges. While promising procedures are under study, it's
not yet clear whether any repair techniques can be developed in
time for a flight next spring."

How can NASA justify flying a space shuttle mission before an
RCC repair is available? Didn't CAIB just prove that damaged
RCC caused the Colombia failure?


It is available. Unless NASA management decides to repair the tiles in the
cargo bay, instead of damaged tiles on the bottom of the Orbiter.

Craig Fink

Damaged by debris from the ET. It seems to me, solving the debris
problem will go along way toward making RCC repair unnecessary.

Brian

Nasa already stated foam will never be 100%

"ed kyle" wrote in message
om...
| In article at:
|
| "http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/030825sts114/"
|
| about planning for next shuttle flight, the following appears.
|
| "(A) tile repair kit will be located at the back of the shuttle's
| cargo bay and feature a panel of deliberately damaged heat shield
| tiles. The spacewalkers will attempt to repair the tiles using
| materials and procedures currently in the development stage.
|
| "The work does not yet include any sort of repair demonstration
| for reinforced carbon carbon panels making up the orbiter's wing
| leading edges. While promising procedures are under study, it's
| not yet clear whether any repair techniques can be developed in
| time for a flight next spring."
|
| How can NASA justify flying a space shuttle mission before an
| RCC repair is available? Didn't CAIB just prove that damaged
| RCC caused the Colombia failure?
|
| - Ed Kyle

Next Shuttle goes to ISS, Inspection envisaged on orbit, though nobody seems
to be saying what they might do if the rcc is found to be damaged, and they
have all those folk on orbit with limited resources and consumables.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
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"ed kyle" wrote in message
om...
In article at:

"http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/030825sts114/"

about planning for next shuttle flight, the following appears.

"(A) tile repair kit will be located at the back of the shuttle's
cargo bay and feature a panel of deliberately damaged heat shield
tiles. The spacewalkers will attempt to repair the tiles using
materials and procedures currently in the development stage.

"The work does not yet include any sort of repair demonstration
for reinforced carbon carbon panels making up the orbiter's wing
leading edges. While promising procedures are under study, it's
not yet clear whether any repair techniques can be developed in
time for a flight next spring."

How can NASA justify flying a space shuttle mission before an
RCC repair is available? Didn't CAIB just prove that damaged
RCC caused the Colombia failure?


Well, if you can explain to the rest of us how you fly a tested, proved to
work repair kit w/o first testing it and proving it, I'm sure we're all
ears.



- Ed Kyle