[OReilly]

Sometimes, OReilly, there REALLY IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE. <<<<<<< Why does that sound like a management excuse to most people?

Combine that excuse with the statement that the reason they did not check for damage was, that they did not have tile replacement capacity in orbit.

[alancarp]

I have to agree: had a visual check been made on the FIRST day in orbit, then there would undoubtedly have been time to make a rescue plan.

Sometimes, yeah: there's nothing that can be done. But I'm gonna look hard for something to do before I make that fatalistic conclusion. It's pretty clear that this scenario was written off.

In the absence of definitive proof at this point, I'm gonna call it a night.