[TrueFact]

I think it was a terrible, cowardly, and shocking decision. The astronauts (and engineers on the ground) might have come up with alternatives if they had known and not been forced into a default give-up. Necessity truly is the mother of invention in situations like that. Recall Apollo 13 and how those astronauts and engineers beat the odds by improvising.

[hattend]

Recall Apollo 13 and how those astronauts and engineers beat the odds by improvising.

The only difference being that they couldn't fix the hole in the wing...even if they had the tools, training, oxygen and time.

The crew was dead the minute the insulation hit the wing.

With Apollo 13, they were going to make it back to earth no matter what (safe return trajectory), they just had to keep the crew alive long enough to make it to reentry.

[sarasmom]

“I think it was a terrible, cowardly, and shocking decision. The astronauts (and engineers on the ground) might have come up with alternatives if they had known and not been forced into a default give-up. Necessity truly is the mother of invention in situations like that. Recall Apollo 13 and how those astronauts and engineers beat the odds by improvising.”

I would agree 100%... except for the obvious glaring fact that even we, the ignorant public on the ground, knew about the missing insulation chunks, and also knew that it was a very serious concern from shortly after lift-off, and throughout the mission.

Sheesh people!
Yellow journalists can't actually change history after only ten years?
Can they?