[Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh]

People are totally missing the point.

This is not about whether or not they could have recovered from their descent. This is not about whether or not they could have docked at the space station.

This is about one simple thing - why didn't Nasa make a visual confirmation that the during-launch insulation impact did not cause serious damage?

The program director was asked if Nasa had considered a spacewalk to examine the damage. He did not answer the question directly. Intead, he said "we cannot walk outside the shuttle and REPAIR TILES".

Wouldn't you think that they would at least want to know if the damage was bad or not? Doesn't make sense. Who cares if they couldn't fix it? You wouldn't just roll the dice and try to re-enter orbit. You would wait as long as possible before running out of water/food/air, and exhausting all potential rescue mission scenarios.

[Don Munn]

In space you do not just drive where you want. You must be in a similar orbit to chase and catch an object (space station)

They were not in the same orbit and your fuel only allows minor corrections.

[Just mythoughts]

No you are missing the point.

From the response you are getting, when you take your case to court hope and pray that some of us are not on your jury.

It is your training that is the point. You listen to a press conference and when an answer does not come out the way you are trained to hear, your brain twitched, immediately you have guilt and now you are trying to convince the rest of us you are right.

I heard the same press conference, and understand fully why your brain twitched, however, my brain heard what he said and because of all speculation of the news today, understood fully his response.

Attorneys are required to look at the world in a specific way, anything that does not flow in that world, their brains twitch. I am not an attorney but spent alot of time working with and for a bunch. They never admit they are wrong, especially if someone says they are. They have to fall face first in the mud to get their attention.

To have nothing more than the manner of answering a question, words used, order of answering a question, how much of the question answered, in a press conference, just a few hours after a horrible event are used by you to assign "guilt" is a brain twitch.

You don't stop there, you then try to spin that this would not be the first time a government funded agency skirting answers.

Talk about rolling the dice, that is exactly what you have done on your posts. Roll the dice, whatever response you get you go on that thread gathering up ideas.

Your words have exposed your thought process, you don't care about damage you do, but yet in your high and mighty world sure can asses damage you think you hear others do.

[CharacterCounts]

I just heard on Fox News that nine times in the past insulation has broken off and hit the shuttle ( six times for the Columbia alone). There never never an incident before. Does this affect your thinking?