This has always bothered me...After the Columbia disaster. Many people including NASA said there was no way to save them even if they knew the extent of the damage to the RCC wing edge...My question is ...Couldn't they have directed the shuttle to ISS or was there not enough fuel? I know they could have sent another shuttle up for a rescue mission..What are your thoughts on this?
2007-07-27 21:47:57 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Oh onin. I must have offended you. What makes you think that the IQ question was directed towards you? It was merely a subject to debate..Maybe it touched on some insecurities you may have... Who knows...I do know that in the future I would use spellcheck and proofreading if I were you. It will lend your rants more credibility if they were structured correctly.
2007-07-27 22:44:18 · update #1
No, it would not have been possible. After the shuttle enters orbit and docks with the space station, it has only small maneuvering jets that do not produce enough thrust to raise the ship to a higher orbit. In other words, it's just a glider and can only go down.
In addition, by the time they knew they were in trouble the ship was already disintegrating.
And Mike, please cool it. You are not qualified to determine who is offended or who is not, and you seem to think that anyone who disagrees with you is "stupid." That is a fine way to get removed from Yahoo!Answers. So try relaxing and learning from well informed people, instead.
2007-07-28 05:16:40 · answer #1 · answered by aviophage 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This thought occurred to me also, but seems to hinge on the very design and capabilities of the Shuttle itself. This is not a Space Ship with large stores of fuel on board. As I understand it, the Shuttle is, in general, a glider, that is propelled into space on the back of giant rockets which drop off after accelerating the shuttle to maximum speed. From that point onward, I think that only small manuvering jets with a little bit of fuel are left on the shuttle. I could be all wet, however.
Anyhow, I think that there might have been a chance for that kind of change in plans if they had known of the wing edge damage and its possible impact on the flight home in advance. Going back to the paragraph above, I just don't know if they had the capability to go back up to the ISS and manuver into a meeting orbit. I think that process requires a lot of fuel and manuvering energy from something. I need to read up on the Shuttle's capabilities a little more apparently.
2007-07-28 08:26:46 · answer #2 · answered by zahbudar 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It was not possible for the shuttle to dock with the ISS. It was in a lower orbit during that fatal mission than the ISS was and it does not carry enough fuel to change its orbit. I do have one question for everyone to thihk about. If NASA knew ahead of time that Columbia is damaged (note that there was nothing they could do to save the astronauts), would they have told the astronauts? Even if they told the astronauts, how would you choose to die, in a blazing glory like we have, or die slowly in space as the oxygen in the shuttle gets depeleted?
2007-07-28 19:38:15 · answer #3 · answered by zi_xin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your that Jerk that insulted all of use with that silly IQ test.
Your the dumb one.
I don't think I'll ever answer you this question >>>>head?
2007-07-28 05:34:18 · answer #4 · answered by Onin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we get blown up for all kids of reasons
2007-07-28 04:52:03 · answer #5 · answered by D. h 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋