From: spike66 (spike66@attbi.com)
Date: Sun Feb 02 2003 - 19:31:56 MST
> Greg Burch wrote:
>
>> Question for the rocket scientists: Would Columbia have had enough
>> delta-v aboard to change orbital planes for a rendezvous with ISS?
>> NASA's been saying such a move would have been fruitless because there
>> was no docking/airlock module on board, but a crew transfer could have
>> been done in the pumpkin suits.
Greg, this will likely become a matter of focus
in the next few weeks. Had the shuttle been able
to make it to the ISS with damaged wing tiles,
they still would have been cooked, because the
ISS has no means of repairing tiles on orbit.
Of course the crew might have been able to sit
tight at the station and be rescued by the ACRV
or something I suppose.
In those cases where they cannot reach the ISS,
NASA has decided there is no point in going
outdoors on an EVA. It would be like being
lost at sea waiting to perish of starvation
or thirst, with the exception that they would
be full in radio contact with earth. spike
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