[FPSPACE] Columbia report released...about the astronauts

[MattWriter at aol.com]

I apologize for not having my copy of the CAIB report handy, since they may 
have dealt with this, but why didn't NASA, in the post-Challenger (when the 
ACES suit was added) or post-Columbia mods, require the suits to be sealed and 
pressurized, with independent oxygen systems on, during every reentry? I know 
all engineering changes on a complex spacecraft are significant, but it does not 
seem too challenging to add a 60-minute O2 bottle to each seat.   The crew 
would still have their PEAPs as emergency backups.   I know the CAIB said 
pressure suits would not have saved the crew given the altitude and velocity of the 
shuttle when it depressurized, but there are certainly scenarios where they 
could. 

Matt Bille
Freelance science/space writer
http://mattbille.blogspot.com

 


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