[NonValueAdded]

This might seem like a dumb suggestion but why not use a giant carbon fiber hairnet over the whole ET? I mean, the original thinking was "it's just foam" and that any damage by a strike would be minimal. Didn't we learn that many at NASA were aghast when they did the post Columbia testing, firing that foam block at a mockup, and realized what level of damage could result? Going back to a CFC-based foam is a no-brainer but there was still some foam loss even with the old stuff.

For that matter, why not reverse the roll maneuver and get gravity pulling debris away from the shuttle instead of putting the shuttle between the ET and the earth? These are simple questions and there are probably of ways to shoot them down but sometimes the simple answers are the hardest to find.

[tfecw]

The hair net idea sounds like a good one actually. That would at least catch the big chunks like the one that hit the Columbia.

[Publius6961]

The gravity vector component is minuscule. In civilian talk, it wouldn't make a measurable difference.

[A.A. Cunningham]

For that matter, why not reverse the roll maneuver and get gravity pulling debris away from the shuttle instead of putting the shuttle between the ET and the earth?

Negative Gs.

[jonascord]

How much extra weight would a cover to prevent foam from shedding off the ET add to launch weight? This mass would have to be subtracted from payload.

Can anyone present empirical proof that freon causes global warming, or did a discredited theory murder the crew of Columbia?

[fedupjohn]

For that matter, why not reverse the roll maneuver and get gravity pulling debris away from the shuttle instead of putting the shuttle between the ET and the earth? These are simple questions and there are probably of ways to shoot them down but sometimes the simple answers are the hardest to find.

What a great idea...wonder how much payload weight they would lose if they did that. Thinking out loud; what if they launched with the orbiter on top until the air thined out and then they rolled over?