Replies

I also was wondering how true the "we couldn't have done a thing" mantra was. The Progress resuply vessel was ready to go in Russia. Maybe a last minute change in payloads and trajectory could have sent this to the Columbia for resupply. Maybe that would have given them enough time until another shuttle could get up there. I also heard that the payload on the Columbia might have physically obstructed the airlock, so the astronauts could not have gotten out to do an EVA to look at damage or retrieve supplies. If this was the case, it isn't very good planning on their part. In the future they should have the little inspector cams on board to check for damage. NASA could also have some agreements with Russia in place for an emergency redirection of any rockets they have to provide emergency support for such a contingency. They could even have a couple of modules sitting around ready to go on top of a Russian,Ariane,Delta,Titan or Atlas booster just in case.

The Russian rocket may have been able to deliver supplies. I'm not sure about fuel though, and that may have been critical. I'm not sure.

We did have at least one EVA suit on the Columbia. I'd suspect there may have been more than one. I'm not in the camp of people who think we couldn't have passed some supplies back and forth. A docking collar might not have been critical since no live inhabitants would have required it on the Russian supply ship. However, the ISS may have needed supplies and not been able to wait until another supply ship arrived. And it is possible that technicly, there was a reason why a manual supply transfer without a dock wasn't possible. I don't know.

I do not believe the shuttle crew compartment decompression chamber door to the payload bay was blocked. I've seen photos that show the largest cargo a distance away from the cabin.

Some of the folks here have been supportive of the towed to space theory of space entry. I believe it would be worth NASA's efforts to aid in private efforts to get this off the ground. If for no other reason than to lauch an alternative route back to base, this would be worth it.