More Columbia...
I read an article in the New Zealand Herald that pretty well lays out the problems in saving the Columbia crew, even if they had figured out that tiles had been lost or damaged. None of the options were good, and none workable.
The only real option would have been to have a Shuttle on standby for each mission ready to be launched in the event a rescue is needed. Even then, weather and launch windows might have still precluded such a mission. The sad reality is that we will lose people in our exploration of space. The key is to be smart, avoid the dumb errors, and learn from our mistakes.
Soldiers die each year in 'training' missions, and live fire exercises. It is the price of a well trained military. The space program is no different. We should celebrate the contributions of these people, but not let it stop our reach for the stars...mj
11:18:15 AM 
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