Do we have a "Ghost Shuttle" in orbit?

[deep]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) --

NASA has grounded its space shuttles until engineers solve the recurring problem of falling debris, NASA's mission managers said Wednesday.

Pieces of debris tore away from the shuttle Discovery during liftoff Tuesday -- despite NASA spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to prevent a repeat of the problem that caused the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Debate over risk to shuttle evolved until eve of breakup
Sunday, March 2, 2003
By Ted Bridis, The Associated Press

Before the Columbia broke apart, NASA experts debated over five days the risks to the space shuttle, moving from a telephone inquiry about tires to remarkably accurate fears focusing on the left wing.

Toward the end, engineers even identified with haunting precision which sensors might fail in sequence as the space shuttle raced through searing temperatures.

Dozens of pages of internal e-mails and other documents obtained since the Feb. 1 disaster offer a look at the inner workings of the $15 billion space agency.

They also show an advancing discussion that only reached an eerie prescience on the eve of Columbia's destruction. By then, William C. Anderson, a NASA contractor wondered in a message, "Why are we talking about this on the day before landing, and not the day after launch?"

The documents, mostly covering five crucial days in late January, also suggest a troubled lack of coordination across some parts of the agency during Columbia's flight:

 

[DaveC]

Boy, way to instill great confidence in the astronauts on Discovery right now by telling everyone that "whoops! we might have lost a heat shield!". I'm sure they're really looking forward to re-entry.

 

[Snowlock]

They have radios. They can talk to the astronaughts

 

[yolland]

They have radios. They can talk to the astronaughts

Astro-naughts? Let's hope not.

Best Freudian slip I've seen since 80sU2 described himself as "ever-vigilante" a couple weeks ago.

 

[BonosSaint]

Day by day, I get a little more nervous about the shuttle. Hope they get back OK. They've got a lot more courage than I do. I'd be freaking about now.

 

[impy13]

A ghost shuttle?

Zoinks, Scoob!

 

[Tilli]

And if it wasn't for all that pesky debris....


Seriously though, can it be fixed???

 

[WinnieThePoo]

if china , u.s. and russia unite together on this , we'll visit all planets in 15 years

if
blah
chikecn
nevewmind
sewer

 

[Snowlock]

Astro-naughts? Let's hope not.

Best Freudian slip I've seen since 80sU2 described himself as "ever-vigilante" a couple weeks ago.

lol, "freudian".

 

[verte76]

This is scary. I'm going to be a wreck during re-entry.

 

[A_Wanderer]

if china , u.s. and russia unite together on this , we'll visit all planets in 15 years

if
blah
chikecn
nevewmind
sewer

Nope, if they unite together you will recieve a bloated program in which some members don't contribute and others have to shoulder the spiralling costs ~ case in point the ISS.

I think that economic exploitation of space travel is the only feesible way for interplanetary missions. They will do it faster, cheaper and better because there is more individual motivation, the selfishness of mankind is almost a universal constant. Being dependent on governments for funding and having to tailor it for future military application does not bode well for exploration and widespread application.

I am a person who is genuinely interested in space travel but it is so held back by funding constraints. Starting with the suborbital reusable craft and space tourism I think that the space industry can grow. I would love to see a day when we have a space elavator to launch payloads ~ that is what would truly open up interplanetary exploration on a large scale.