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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Shipbuilder: [QB] Here are a couple of answers/clarifications to some of the comments made so far: Someone mentioned an external tank tile earlier up in the thread...the external tank doesn't have tiles. It uses spray on foam insulation. The part that fell off was probably a frozen section of ice/foam...I'm still not sure how this could cause any severe damage (depends on which type of shuttle tile it impacted.) Tahna Los: There is NO on-orbit repair method for damaged TPS materials. It is done here on the ground in a controlled environement with strict control on cure times, temperatures, and compression loads (among lots of other variables)that firmly seat each tile. Your exactly right that NO Shuttle could have been prepped and launched in time to aid STS-107 even if damage had been known. Even using an orbiter that was in the processing flow, its doubtful they could ramp up any faster than the next scheduled launch date (March 1)...owing to the fact that there would have to be provisions made for the returning STS-107 crew, something NO shuttle was designed to do. Why not fly over to the station and?...I'll just stop right there. I can just hear some folks claiming "well what's that expensive station up there for anyway" (not u Tahna) Despite the fact that Columbia did not have the docking module installed in the payload bay, Columbia couldn't even have made it to the station just to let the station crew take a look at the possible damage. The shuttles are only loaded with enough fuel to perform their orbital burns for reentry and stationkeeping, they simply don't have the capacity to carry enough propellants to perform the massive orbital change required to change to the flight path of the station. As a matter of fact, Columbia was the only orbiter that did not recieve the added tankage that would allow it to travel to the station from launch. That is the reason you have never seen Columbia travel to the station. Even if it had been any of the other orbiters they would not have been able to transfer to the station's orbital inclination...you leave the ground with the required amount of fuel to get to where you plan to go, no more, no less. Starship Millenium: Actually, if I remember correctly, Columbia was the only orbiter left with an internal airlock. The other orbiters were modified to use the external airlock, which reduced weight and allowed them to reach station orbit. So Columbia probably did have the capabilty to perform EVA's, but not to the underside of the vehicle (no handholds etc.) [/QB][/QUOTE]
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