Now THIS sounds like a job for the local county Health Department...
Given that the fleet is grounded - would they not send up another with any replacement/repair materials that they may have neglected/not known they needed in order to fix Discovery?
If so, how long would it take them to prep the emergency launch? (Excluding waiting for a new window)
Also, if the emergency shuttle was damaged as well, do we have any left after that?
I thought we had a total of 4 or 5, but 2 went bye bye which leaves us with 1 or 2 on the ground.
Article
Given that the fleet is grounded - would they not send up another with any replacement/repair materials that they may have neglected/not known they needed in order to fix Discovery?
If so, how long would it take them to prep the emergency launch? (Excluding waiting for a new window)
Also, if the emergency shuttle was damaged as well, do we have any left after that?
I thought we had a total of 4 or 5, but 2 went bye bye which leaves us with 1 or 2 on the ground.
Article
CNN.com said:Future shuttle flights on hold
(CNN) -- Discovery docked with the international space station Thursday as NASA tried to determine why insulating foam fell off the shuttle's external fuel tank during its launch.
The shuttle-station rendezvous at 7:18 a.m. ET was the first since November 2002, NASA said. Shortly afterward, a connecting hatch was opened and both crews greeted each other with hugs and smiles.
Discovery flew in an unusual upside-down maneuver before it docked so space station cameras with special lenses could take pictures of it, looking for possible damage.