[theFIRMbss]

>As if you understood a word. These were SSME (main ENGINE) problems. Just FYI, the engines are TURNED OFF during descent. Oy.

Hey, take a chill pill.
Just about every system
has been fiddled with

since the Challenger.
All those "fiddles" could add up
to lots of strange bugs.

And they probably
burn the main engine to slow
their orbit and start

re-entry. (Save your
oys and the duh FYI's
for people who care.)

[boris]

"And they probably
burn the main engine to slow
their orbit and start"

They do not. There is a separate propulsion system called the OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) which does the retro burn. It is as different from the SSME as a snail is from a lion.

--Boris