[_Jim]

How so?

You slight NASA on so little real, actual undertsnding of the risks versus benefits -

- yet you will drive a car in unknown condition?

Who's loonier now - NASA or ???

At least NASA has done actual risk analysis ...

[TheDon]

Hmmmmm...NASA, Dittemore, stated that they knew about the external tank insulation falling off and hitting the shuttle on launch, they investigated it, and decided it presented no safety risk, based on the limited data they had. Fine.

However, at the same press conference, when asked why no one looked at the tiles when the shuttle was in orbit, Dittemore shrugged off the question by saying it wouldn't matter if there was damage to the tiles as there was nothing they could do about it. One wonders how much this played into the decision that the launch anomaly presented no safety risk.

Just a little common sense would make one not launch a shuttle if there was no way to save the crew in case of tile damage. There are options to save the crew in this scenario, but apparently NASA decided not to provide for them.

If NASA made some mistakes in judgement in this area, they must take responsibility for the results. Not to do so would cripple the organization by inhibiting critical feedback that would improve the organization.