[Brett66]

Unfortunately the eva suits were also on the ground.

I guess they truly were doomed. Hindsights 20/20 I guess but it would seem like they would stow at least one suit just in case. I think there's a few things they could rethink in the future that would give them more flexibility for dealing with such situations in the future. It's really kind of surprising just how limited their options were.

[snooker]

I believe the real problem was the shuttle bay was full of stuff with no door. At least that was what a friend who works close to the shuttle program said to me.

No need for EVA suits if there was no door. No docking collar no way to connect to another mission vehicle. They did each have inside the vehicle suits.

The mission was simply not designed for anything but inside vehicle low gravity experiments.

Doomed from the getgo if the debris actually damaged the wing. IMHO taking out one critical tile near or on the leading edge and there would be no hope for safe re-entry. Since NASA could not prove damage they went with re-entry.

Space is a risky business even if no one is paying attention.

BTW, I was involved with the Apollo program, hence contacts and interest on my part.

snooker