Continued, page two. Columbia Guide:
Q: Why didn't they go to the International Space Station and get off Columbia?
A: Again, they didn't know there was a problem, so no rescue effort of any kind was considered necessary. But in more practical terms it would have been impossible for Columbia to get to the space station. The two vehicles (shuttle and station) were in very different orbits and there was insufficient fuel for Columbia to change its track. Besides, unlike the three other orbiters, Columbia was never designed or equipped to dock with the space station; it was too heavy. The venerable spaceship still contained wiring and instrumentation from its days as the first "test vehicle," and its frame was heavier than the others, too. The weights combined to restrict Columbia to orbits near the earth's equator where it could be used as a minor space station for two week science missions. It would have been very hard for it to get up to the station's orbit, which is inclined 52 degrees to the equator. It could have reached the station, but it would have used a lot more fuel than the others and would have been unable to carry much cargo in the process.
Returning to the original question: such a rescue would be possible for the three remaining orbiters provided they had enough fuel to reach or get back to the station. Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour are all equipped to dock with the station in the course of their normal assignments.
Q: Could some other kind of rescue been sent from the ground for Columbia's crew?
A: Problematic. We've all seen the miracles worked during the Apollo 13 mission, in which bits and pieces were combined to keep the crew alive long enough to reenter Earthıs atmosphere. But in this case, it's hard to see how it would be done. Columbia had no airlock, so transfer of people from one shuttle to another would be impractical. The right kind of equipment was simply not available.
The other consideration is whether another shuttle could have reached them in time. Columbia was at the end of a 16 day mission and had only a few days' reserves on board. It normally takes about a month from the time a shuttle gets on the pad until it can be launched. Experts say it could be done in a week if all tests and safety precautions were circumvented. But once a rescue craft got there, how would you get them off? They've never flown two shuttles at the same time, much less in close formation.
But the bottom line remains as before: apparently, they didnıt know they needed a rescue.
Q: Did a piece of foam insulation cause all this?
A: Don't know. A lot of people don't think that was possible. The piece that struck Columbia weighed less than 3 pounds, but still, there are other considerations. Did it strike the leading edge of the wing at a particularly vulnerable spot? Was it just one thing in a chain of events?
Remember: the piece of foam came off when the shuttle was climbing at speeds more than twice the speed of sound..between 1500 and 1900 miles an hour. That changes things. But it's still hard to connect the symptoms observed before the shuttle broke up (random heating, rapid steering adjustments) with the wing strike by a piece of foam debris. That tortures the investigators.
Q: Why did they also go looking for debris in California?
A: The theory is that pieces farther west will be from the part of the fuselage where the trouble started. Seeing how the pieces broke up and exactly what they are could put a new light on the situation.
Q: Can this be cleared up quickly?
A: Probably not. These things are always more complicated than they appear to be at the outset and require the talents and agreement of hundreds of highly skilled people. Try to be patient.
Q: Since the shuttles may be grounded until the problem is found and fixed, how does this effect the International Space Station?
A: For the time being, it doesn't effect it very much at all. Food, clothing, water, equipment and even mail from home is being supplied to the three persons aboard the station through deliveries on robotic space ships launched in Russia. As they stand right now, the crew is good through mid to late summer.
A 3 seat Russian Soyuz spacecraft is always docked to the tail of the station. It is kept turned on and the hatch is always open for a quick escape if things go badly. The Soyuz are replaced every six months to keep their fuel systems fresh. A three member crew flies up with the new one and brings the old one home. Theoretically, the crew now on board the station could come back on the old one while the crew on the new one would take their place.
The larger problem is that shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour are also the delivery trucks for equipment and materials used to expand the huge station. That will stop for the time being, leaving the station as it now is. If the investigation lasts a really long time, managers will have to consider putting the station on automatic control and closing it up for the duration. That wouldn't be good for it, but it could be done.
It wouldn't be good politically, either. The US, Canada, Russia, European consortium and Japan are all invested in the station. Most of the partners are still waiting to have their equipment and their people delivered to the station to begin scientific research. And that's another story: briefly, the station's crew size must grow for the modules provided by Japan and the Europeans to be installed and begin operation. That will require more than the three crewmen now aboard the station and the crew size cannot grow until there is something with more seats than a Soyuz to serve as a "lifeboat." So far, that's a plan that has waited in the budgetary wings.
And that's where we are for the time being. If you have questions of your own, send them through the "Contact Jim Slade" link at the bottom of the page. I'll be glad to try an answer.
