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Minor Damage Found On Space Shuttle
The BBC is reporting on minor damage to the space shuttle Atlantis revealed by a 10-hour inspection in orbit. On the shuttle's right side, near where the wing joins the body, inspection revealed a 21" (53cm) line of chips in the tiles that make up the vehicle's heat shield. "...more analysis by engineers would determine whether a 'focused inspection' was needed in that specific area. If so, astronauts would use sensors to determine the exact depth of the damage to the heat shield tiles. NASA has placed the space shuttle Endeavour on stand-by to rescue the crew of Atlantis if they are endangered." The crew couldn't shelter on the ISS in case of trouble, because their orbit is higher and on a different inclination.
God you're a dumb shit aren't you.
I might not be an expert, but at least I don't spout bullshit under the pretense of widsom.
The fuel required for the shuttle to change orbits would weigh too much for it to get off the ground in the first place
Correct me if I'm wrong (you probably will), but the shuttle (or any other rocket for that matter), does not just go straight up and then stop ... it spirals away from the earth and then levels out gradually at whatever oribital plane is desired.
Likewise, when they want to "come down" again, after a brief thrust, it gradually spirals back down to earth.
So obviously changing the orbit isn't the issue, the issue actually being able to stop the bloody thing so it doesn't smack into the ISS at thousands of miles per hour.
But it's not that NASA scientists "haven't thought about it". It's about beancounters deciding that their table of risk factors doesn't warrant the extra cost, and leaving no margin for error.
The fact this is the second shuttle to suffer tile damage close to the joint of the wing and the main body should tell somebody something ? Like perhaps, it MIGHT be a good idea to design safety factors i.e. extra fuel for contingencies, back into the next generation of space vehicles.
But hell, why let common sense get in the way of ad hominem attacks ... this is /. after all.