5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … Goodbye, Columbia

Some suspect the tile mounting is the least of Columbia’s difficulties. “I don’t think anybody appreciates the depths of the problems,” Kapryan says. The tiles are the most important system NASA has ever designed as “safe life.” That means there is no back-up for them. If they fail, the shuttle burns on reentry. If enough fall off, the shuttle may become unstable during landing, and thus un-pilotable. The worry runs deep enough that NASA investigated installing a crane assembly in Columbia so the crew could inspect and repair damaged tiles in space. (Verdict: Can’t be done. You can hardly do it on the ground.)

This was the cover story in the April 1980 Washinton monthly. I haven’t posted much on the whole shuttle thing, and I don’t think I will (apparently it’s a big news thing or something. there are some advantages to not watching TV I suppose). There’s much more coverage elsewhere: Doc, Space.com, Spaceflight Now, Winer: 2/1, 2/2