this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
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What about the two alternatives that were forwarded after the accident, either a rescue mission or in-orbit repairs?
Sure, both were far from a guaranteed success. Far from. Still better than nothing. As in: They were another option than just letting it explode.
I thought both of these were actually impossible for Columbia. IIRC the rescue mission was impossible because there were no available vehicles, and the EVA equipment onboard would let them inspect the tiles but they couldn't actually fix them.
Atlantis was already scheduled to fly not too long after, and the CAIB discussed that there was a possibility of moving the launch up as Columbia could have stayed an extraordinary long time in orbit due to their specific mission loadout.
Repairs with harvested tiles were also discussed but yeah , chance of success rated as low. Still, better than deorbiting with nothing done.
NASA has been known to do the impossible from time to time.
Didnβt have the equipment for either.
We donβt have a rescue ship just sitting around. Itβd take months to get one ready.