[Smokin' Joe]

Easy decision to me, confirm damage, attempt repair if unable to repair keep space craft in orbit. Shuttle could at some point be repaired and safely returned to Earth. Crew is doomed, but space craft is not.

Admitting there might be a problem is the first step to finding a solution. It worked with Apollo 13, and who knows what the world's minds could have come up with in a week? Just the notoriety of 'saving the shuttle' would have had some of the best amateurs and professionals on the globe taking a crack at a solution--either to keep the astronauts alive until they could be evacuated, or to repair the shuttle.

[jpsb]

I am relatively certain the Shuttle could have safely stayed on station (in orbit) for a week, maybe longer. There is little doubt that given a week either we or the Russians could have gotten supplies up there for a longer stay or perhaps fuel to get to the space station. If NASA knew the craft would not survive reentry it would not have reentered.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I’d sure like to think so... like an ICBM getting refitted to carry more oxygen and supplies to the crippled craft using something like a net to achieve handoff, if necessary trying it several dozen times till the net catches, then a spacewalk to get the stuff and unhook the net.