Space shuttle safety......?

Question

Will the safety of the astronauts be compromised if they try and reenter the earths atmosphere without replacing the damaged tiles? In East Texas, weve already had one blow up on reentry, I am very concerned about this.

Answer 1

The trouble is, these shuttles are elderly. I understand they only have a few missions left using them, then new ones are on order. Because of the first accident concerning foam, it makes one nervous to consider that this one has broken particles, too. If all goes well, they'll be home Tuesday, so we can then relax.

NASA knows that another accident could be fatal to the space program. Getting money for the program has been a problem, and they feel that these last successful missions will loosen the pursestrings of the government and renew interest in space travel. Let's hope they don't take any unnecessary chances.

Answer 2

Well, on the bright side, the damage is on the belly of the shuttle, and not on the leading edge of the wing. The temperatures are far less here during reentry than on the leading edge. The damage isn't as great, and the area affected leads to the cargo bay, not the interior of the wing.

On the dark side.... there may be some local area damage done during reentry, but probably nothing lethal.

A prayer for their safety, and the people on the ground probably isn't necessary, but it probably wouldn't hurt, either.

Answer 3

if u're talking about the astronauts on Endeavor right now, then the answer is "no." According to NASA, the reason for all these tests and worries are because the damage will slightly weaken the structure of the shuttle on reentry, which will result in expensive/inconvenient repairs. i wish i could get a source for u now but im using crappy dialup and my page wont load =[

Answer 4

there is a possibility for a repeat of colombia. Reentry temperatures are so hot that the slightest damage to the protective tiles can compromise safety. Nasa is building safer space viechles. See orion space project

Answer 5

Dozens of engineers and scientists poured over pictures and data for several days before deciding it was safe. The mind-set of these scientists and engineers is not a gung-ho, "go for it", attitude as it may have been back when Challenger was lost. No, if anything these guys are going to be overly cautious. They are the true experts. I trust their judgement.

I am not worried for their safety (at least not from the aspect of a very small gouge in a couple of tiles). There may be many other things that might fail, but those tiles are probably not one of them.

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Answer 6

NASA says no because it is on the belly of the spacecraft compared to being on the wing during the Columbia mission.

NASA will look pretty stupid if something occurred that could have been prevented with a simple repair in space.

Answer 7

I know it makes no sense that the shuttle is what billions of dollars and yet things fall off of it. I just do not see it being safe in any way. And why the heck do we need to go to space for anyway?

Answer 8

I think we have to trust NASA. They are only human and can make mistakes but they are also the people with the most expertise and their best interest will be for the people on board.