Re: Shuttle question

Jim Yanik <jyanik@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:Xns998C66D6B75CFjyanikkuanet@xxxxxxxxxxx:


It irks me that they seem to be willing to allow reentry without
repairing the gash. (have they forgotten there are PEOPLE aboard??)

Please allow me to jump in here, I have extended experience in glass
aerogel (although not as used on the shuttle). The tiles in question are
glass aerogel overlaid with a thin layer of carbon fiber/epoxy. They have
a very thin, but tough and somewhat brittle coating. Under this coating,
they are very brittle and about as tough as styrofoam. You can easily
crush aerogel, or put your finger through a block. This is the risk in
doing the repair; you can damage the tile further or gouge other tiles.
Without doing detailed simulations (either computer or blow-torch) the
actual risk of re-entering without repair is not known. The aluminum skin
might be just fine w/o repair. The aerodynamics might be such that the
heat won't penetrate to the skin, or the skin might be able to dissapate
any heat that gets down to it. I can understand that there is a great need
to be seen to be "dooing something" to fix the problem, but the brave folks
up there are in no immediate danger.
.

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