[FPSPACE] BBC Horizon "Guide to the Space Shuttle"...could theColumbia have been saved?

[David Portree]

My understanding is that handling cargo via EVA is a non-trivial challenge. Of course, in a desperate situation, non-trivial challenges are assumed.

David S. F. Portree

dsfportree at hotmail.com
dportree at usgs.gov
 
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/beyondapollo/ 
 
http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/About/People/DavidPortree/
 



From: john.b.charles at nasa.gov
To: agzak at optonline.net; fpspace at friends-partners.org
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:20:36 -0500
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] BBC Horizon "Guide to the Space Shuttle"...could theColumbia have been saved?

Re: [FPSPACE] BBC Horizon "Guide to the Space Shuttle"...could theColumbia have been saved?No RMS robotic arm on Columbia STS-107. However, all flights had EVA capability and trained crewmembers for contingency end-of-mission EVAs such as manually closing the payload bay doors.John Charles From: fpspace-bounces at www.friends-partners.org [mailto:fpspace-bounces at www.friends-partners.org] On Behalf Of Anatoly Zak
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 7:38 AM
To: Untitled
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] BBC Horizon "Guide to the Space Shuttle"...could theColumbia have been saved? ...because it would probably require lengthy modifications to the Progress’ mid-section to carry unpressurized cargo. It would likely take the effort beyond the capability of the Shuttle to keep its crew alive. However, if the Shuttle was designed to dock, any available Progress in the launch schedule could be sent up (in fact, M-47 was launched right after the accident:

 http://www.russianspaceweb.com/progress.html#m47

Anatoly Zak

P.S. Did Columbia had manipulator and EVA capability in this mission? I vaguely remember that some Spacelab missions would not carry the arm and EVA airlocks could be used (if not disabled) by tunnels to Spacelab or to Spacehab.




On 4/25/12 6:14 AM, "James E Oberg" <jeoberg at comcast.net> wrote:Who says it had to dock? Even the simplest payload -- a metal box with grapple fixture -- could have been handled by 'Columbia' via EVA.
----- Original Message ----- 
 
From:  Anatoly Zak <mailto:agzak at optonline.net>   
 
To: Untitled <mailto:fpspace at friends-partners.org>  
 
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 6:44 PM
 
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] BBC Horizon "Guide  to the Space Shuttle"...could theColumbia have been saved?
 

Purely  speculatively, it is possible to imagine Progress ship repurposed to carry  some hardware to the Shuttle, but obviously, there was no time to prepare such  a mission, especially when Columbia was not configured to dock.

Anatoly  Zak
Creator & Publisher
http://www.RussianSpaceWeb.com


On  4/23/12 6:48 PM, "Gunter Krebs" <gunter.krebs at skyrocket.de>  wrote:

 Unfortunately this scenario was completely  impossible - there was simply no spacecraft available to be launched on an  Ariane towards the crippled Shuttle.


2012/4/23 James E Oberg  <jeoberg at comcast.net>
 .... a middle course would be launching life-extension supplies  on an Ariane within two weeks to give time for preparing the next launch  better.

Anything wouyld have been better than doing  nothing.
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