I'm "Second guessing" NASA

A frequently heard expression for something that isn't too hard is, "This isn't rocket science!" Generally what's meant when someone says that is, that whatever has to be accomplished should be completed pretty easily - or at least without a whole lot of difficulty. We've all heard the expression before .... and know what it's about.

Yesterday NASA announced that they had decided NOT to repair the 3.5" X 3.5" X 1.0" gouge in the ceramic heat tiles on the underbelly of the space shuttle. Earlier in the week, when describing the damage that had been experienced during launch by still more "falling insulation or ice" from the solid rocket booster (SRB), a NASA spokesperson stated that the aluminum frame of the space shuttle was now being protected by a piece of felt that formed the underside of each heat tile.

When I first heard the pronouncement of damage by Mission Control earlier in the week, I figured, well this is a no-brainer! There's no way they're going to risk another fatal re-entry incident, so someone will just "crawl" out there and spread some ceramic caulk or "repair goop" into the gouge and everything will be fine. Next thing I hear is that "because of the difficulty of going outside the space shuttle," and "we're going to have to tether someone to a 100' boom, and it's really difficult, we've decided that the gouge doesn't pose a serious problem." Subsequent reports indicated that NASA wasn't concerned of safety problems for this mission so much as they had such a tight turn-around schedule that they didn't want to delay future shuttle flights because of this minor tile issue now. (This last sentence is perfect example of a "BBFO" or "bureaucratic brain fart occurrence". Just thought of that one!)

My initial thought was, "Wait a minute! Astronaut Story Musgrave was tethered to the end of a boom, and then "space walked" his way successfully through 4.5 hours of repairs on the Hubble Telescope a few years back. Why can't one or two of these astronauts tether themselves to a long rope inside the shuttle's cargo bay, and then one or both of them take a spackle knife or a butter knife and some ceramic tile fixit caulk and schmmmmear it into the gouges that the falling ice created. Isn't that better than having the thin aluminum frame protected by only a piece of felt in the 2200 degree temperatures of re-entry ???????????

Wait.....wait a minute. What we're going to hear is that there is no ceramic fixit kit, is there? Am I right? I bet I'm right! Somebody should hold NASA's feet to the fire on this one. Let's ask the most obvious questions first.....even if it means second guessing these incredibly intelligent rocket scientists!

Dear NASA rocket scientists, after all the dozens of shuttle flights, and all the problems with insulation falling off the SRB during launch - PLEASE SOMEBODY TELL ALL OF US, THAT YOU INCLUDED IN THE SPACE SHUTTLES "GLOVE BOX" A CERAMIC-TILE FIXIT KIT????

If I'm an astronaut currently in the Space Station or part of the Shuttle Crew, I'm tapping on the television monitor and asking if my reservations on the space station can be extended! I'm respectfully requesting that the other space shuttle come on up to get us - cause I'm not risking my neck on a piece of felt!

My conversation with Mission Control in Houston would go something like this....."Hello Houston, I have CBS, NBC, ABC, and The Discovery Channel on the line with us here so, this is a conference call. Sir, with all due respect - it's our butts on the line up here today, not yours. Personally Sir, I couldn't care less whether your future flights are on time or delayed - I WANT TO COME HOME SAFELY TO MY FAMILY! So, I respectfully suggest and request that you'all down there in Houston and FLa FLa, get Story Musgrave to run over to the Home Depot or Lowe's to get some "bond-o" or ceramic-tile fixit gunk, then grab a bag of those $2500 wrenches and hammers, and get the other shuttle zoooming up here just as fast as you can. We'll be fine until then. We have water, music, MRE's, & bathroom facilities. You just get up here as soon as you can, then me and Astronaut Musgrave will crawl around to the bottoms of both shuttles and spread that stuff wherever it's needed. Then we can both boogie on back to White Sands. But I ain't leavin' until these gouges are patched! The Astronaut's Union won't let me!"

Like someone once said, (my paraphrasing here) "The Space Program is a multi-billion dollar industry resting on the shoulders of the lowest bidder!"

Somebody ask the obvious question please!