Translation: The Shuttle is unsafe.
It's long past bedtime for this program. The Shuttle should be permanently grounded and the Space Station abandoned. Back to the drawing board!
27 - "Translation: The Shuttle is unsafe. "
space flight has always been unsafe. The orbiter will be 'safer' if they address the problems, but it will never be 'safe'.
The two problems they write up in the story are fixable, if they will do it.
1. Fixing the foam on the external tank should solve the problem about punching large holes in the wings.
2. And they already designed a robot inspection camera years ago, which could inspect for damage.
3. There are however other structural problems, and numbers of things which make it less safe than it could be.
4. However, the biggest safety problem is the NASA culture. which is what killed both the Challenger and the Colombia.
...and Columbus should have stayed home where it was safe.