[Thermalseeker]

Also, at the time of the Columbia disaster, I believe it was disclosed that NASA had altered TPS (thermal protection system)features to comply with "greenie" desires...changes which resulted in Columbia flying with less than the best TPS.

A friend of mine who works for NASA, and in particular on the refueling crew for the Shuttles, tells me that the formula for the foam insulation on the main tank was "revised" several years ago to meet EPA standards and ended up being weaker than what was originally used. Big chunks now break off on every launch, sometimes with disasterous results

[kimosabe31]

That's what I was trying to recall. EPA was sticking its nose into the TPS formulation business. Can't think of a better way to f%$k things up than to get EPA on board.

[kimosabe31]

Check out post #49 by orionblamblam. He says the Columbis tank foam was not the EPA sabataged version.