Decision Not To Repair Shuttle 'Not Unanimous'

You have probably heard by now that last night, after six days of deliberation, NASA decided it would not repair the gouge in space shuttle Endeavour's heat shield:

The Mission Management Team decided Thursday that the spacewalk, STS-118’s fourth, will not include repair of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s heat shield. After hours of reviewing data and imagery collected during the inspections by the STS-118 crew, the managers decided the damage did not pose a safety risk to the crew or Endeavour.

Mission management chief, John Shannon said the decision not to repair the gouge was not unanimous:

He called NASA's decision process a debate among about 200 experts, culminating with a five-hour private conference that ran much longer than expected Thursday.

Shannon said the decision to clear Endeavour for landing with the risk of damage was "not unanimous, but pretty overwhelming."

I remember a similar lack of unanimity the last time NASA decided to launch Challenger. I hope they got it right this time. I agree with Arthur Wolf:

There is no reason not to do it," Wolf said of a repair. "I find it mind-boggling there was even the discussion. ... The decision to do something should have been immediate."

NASA developed the capabilty to repair such damage in space after loss of Columbia. Why not use it.

Image courtesy of NASA.

Comments

[Walter E. Wallis]

I find the decision absurd. I suspect this is one more step in the coverup of the stupid decision to change the blowing agent for the tank insulation, a decision I understand was made by then VP Gore. With the asbestos ban that killed Challenger and the foam change that doomed Columbia they are going for a hat trick. Retire the bunch and hand the program back to the Air Force where it should have stayed in the first place.