Remember The Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia Explosions?

Ken AshfordScience & TechnologyLeave a Comment

I do.

NASA apparently doesn’t:

NASA managers have rejected last-ditch pleas from their top safety officer and chief engineer to scrap next month’s shuttle launch, saying that they will press ahead despite potentially catastrophic risks.

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Dr Griffin said: "I do not see the situation we’re in as being a crew-loss situation. If we are unlucky and we have a debris event on ascent, it will not impede the ascent. The crew will arrive safely in orbit, and then we will begin to look at our options."

Of course, he’s right.  With Columbia, they had a "debris event" on ascent, and it didn’t impede the ascent.  It did, however, impede the descent.

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