The big question now is, Does this spell the end of the shuttle? The shuttle is supposed to be phased out by 2010, five years away. NASA took 2 1/2 years and $1 billion redesigning the system after foam blew off the external tank and doomed Columbia. Now foam has blown off the external fuel tank, but luckily missed Discovery. What can they do to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again? And is it worthwhile for NASA to go through that wrenching process, spend all that money, take who knows how long, for a system that is to be scrapped in five years? By this point an alternative must be looking more attractive to NASA: scrap the shuttle now and get on with the next generation. As outlined by Thiokol in a story I did recently, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600148228,00.html that could entail using the solid rocket booster as a first stage with a liquid-fuel second stage, perhaps the same rocket used with Apollo as the second stage, the JS2-S. A capsule for the astronauts, called the Crew Exploration Vehicle, would be on top. Other configurations would be required with cargo carriers to supply the space station. The point is, no reusable spacecraft. And, I hope, no external fuel tank hanging off with its insulation ready to rip away. Anybody care to comment? I'm thinking about doing a story. Thanks, Joe