I disagree. As I said, hindsight is always 20/20. Without having the data in-hand that NASA has, as well as the design and engineering background and familiarity with the system, comment on any repairs one way or the other is meaningless. I never specifically wrote that Kurt or anyone was second-guessing. I did write that it would be pointless to do so. And who isn't concerned for their safety. You've pretty much covered all the bases, though, with your stance. "Fix it anyway but they'll be fine hopefully." And cross your fingers for that final bit of faith in science and engineering. On 8/19/07, diveboss@xmission.com <diveboss@xmission.com> wrote:
Quoting Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com>:
Jeez, really. I doubt anyone on this list is even remotely qualified to second-guess the NASA engineers.
Kurt wasn't second guessing anyone. He was merely concerned for their safety.
That said, it doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to second guess NASA. After learning about the damage Columbia sustained, I really thought, based on a gut feeling and no particular scientific basis, that the crew would have been better off coming home in a different vehicle. So you see, second guessing NASA isn't that big a deal. I was right!
But I will go on record now and say that the crew should have been allowed to make the repair IF for no other reason that to gain useful experience for future flights. But I still think they will be fine. Fingers crossed!