[DoughtyOne]

The original designers of the space shuttle came up with design criterea. They deemed this to be the most viable design. I would tend to disagree with them. I think a pod should have been designed into the shuttle. If problems arose, the crew cabin could be separated and flown to earth. It may have cost more. So what?

Even if this was the initial design, and policy, why didn't a new policy spring forth eventually seeing a backup plan to lauch a second shuttle for rescue? We have shuttles only a few weeks to six weeks away from lauch most of the time. A crash program could be devised to make sure they could lauch sooner if a crisis arose.

Do we or do we not have such a contingency plan? If not, why not?

[DoughtyOne]

Folks, I've enjoyed discussing this issue. None of us has all the answers. I have simply asked questions that occur to me. I'm sorry if some of you think these questions are unfair to NASA. I think the seven men and women who died deserve our efforts to hold NASA's feet to the fire, to make sure this investigation is forthright and honest, and that policies and contingencies are devised to make sure we don't lose 7 more down the road.

Some of you are convinced NASA is beyond reproach. I'm not so sure. I appreciate your arguements. Some of you made some good ones. Take care.

[El Gato]

The original designers of the space shuttle came up with design criterea. They deemed this to be the most viable design.

Not really, the original designs would have been more robust, but Nixon/Ford and especialy Carter cut the funding for the detailed design and production so much that they weren't able to actually build their first choice, based on original budget projections. Additionally I believe the total number of shuttles was cut, so that it would be longer between flights, which in turn means less likelyhood of a rescue bird being availble, even on a rush basis.

See the "Moose" rescuse system in the posts above. I think such a thing could be designed (in detail) and built today, fairly quickly and fairly cheaply, as a stopgap until a better aerospace plane and/or cargo lauch system can be designed and built.

[garbanzo]

I think lots of things could have been designed in, but why weren't they - I'm sure engineers have come up with contingency plans. Why were they not investigated? If they were deemed infeasible then what were the standards to determine it and were they reasonable standards? Was whatever the costs of implementing those plans worth the lives of the crew and the loss of a shuttle?

[_Jim]

The original designers of the space shuttle came up with design criterea.

.. over better than a fifty year period (if you read your history on this - you would know this) ...