Kim, You will never find an engineer who will tell you "it can't be done". One of the real challenges in engineering is knowing when to "shoot the engineers" and let the thing go. We both know that these problems have existed since the first shutle was launched. Its just that we now have more information, and that information scares(some of) us. We have launched the shuttle enough times that we have a pretty good idea of the system reliability. I think you have laid out the questions pretty well. I think it may well be time to move on. BTW, engineers, who are the ones responsible for change in technology, are usually the most resistant to change. Funny how that works. If the shuttle is scrapped, watch for the cry to come from the technical community. Brent Kim wrote:
Sorry to point out the obvious, but NASA has had 2 1/2 years and a whole lot of money already to "try and fix the problem." If it can't be done, admit it and throw in the towel. Now.
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