Elephant In Exile

You Could Knock Me Over with a Feather...

Hmm..scary news for the space shuttle. Seems some insulation is hanging off the bottom of the spacecraft. Probably has happened before and we just didn't know about it as only now are the folks at NASA going over the craft with a fine tooth comb. But bigger problems remain. The falling foam problem that was allegedly fixed actually wasn't...and now the whole shuttle system is grounded yet again, and who knows for how long.

While Elephant certainly hopes the the shuttle crew makes it home safe, I must say I wasn't at all surprised by recent events. After the Columbia disintegration, NASA was tasked with a multi-point plan to return to flight. Among the items it needed to check off were that foam thing, as well as not launching if the four fuel sensors weren't working. When one of the sensors went on the fritz, NASA's response was to shrugg and say...well, we'll launch anyway.

NASA's willingness to bend the rules and the general pointlessness of the Shuttle and the Space Station call the whole purpose of NASA into question. Please someone scrap the shuttle and space station, leave human space flight to the private section, and focus on science...not make-work, pie-in-the-sky projects. Sigh....

NASA May Try Shuttle Repair
Reentry Hazard Is Feared From Fillers on Shield
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/31/AR2005073100080.html