Shuttle Return...I have a bad feeling about this....

[lizbud]

Well this really IS Rocket Science after all. They are Rocket Scientist and if the Astronauts trust them so shall I.

My son is a rocket scientist and they are very level headed people. I'm sure
they would never recommend using it, as is, if they thought it would fail.
I'm sure they have considered all options.I always pray for a space flights
safe return.

[RICHARD]

A few years ago I had the supreme opportunity to touch a tile and speak with a rocket scientist.

The tiles are suprisingly light and you would be hard pressed to believe that something like that could stand the heat that a reentry produces.

Think of a giant sugar cube that has the consistency of a rigid nylon pot scrubber, but the material is silicon.


You can heat up a tile in a furnace til it glows red hot, after removing the tile from the oven you can pick it up from the corners while is still glows red in the middle. Should you get to see that cilm clip watch! Truly remarkable!

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The Columbia accident was caused by a hole in the leading edge of the wing.

The place where the tile is broken is in an area that will not get as hot as the nose and the leading edges of the wings. Some of the first shuttle missions were flown with whole tiles missing.


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The NASA babe I spoke to was hotter than any ceramic shuttle tile.

[lizbud]

Shuttle lands successfully. Watching the approach to landing from
the view of the shuttle was totally awesome.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

I am so glad they are back safely!!! I was never so glad to be wrong in my life!!!

[Logan]

I've got to tell you that if I had ever qualified and chose to be an astronaut, the people I would trust the most would be my fellow astronauts and the space officials on the ground who were trained to take me up safely and bring me down safely. If they said I was safe, I would trust their opinion.

I'm so glad they have landed and everything is ok.

Logan

[sweetpatata6]

Great news! The shuttle came back just fine at about 12:30 PM EST!

[cyber-sibes]

Yeah!