Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rosen
From: rosen@cs.utexas.edu (Eric Carl Rosen)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Columbia showing her age?
Message-ID: <1025@needmore.cs.utexas.edu>
Date: 13 Dec 90 06:03:23 GMT
References: <20792.2765fbdf@merrimack.edu>
Organization: Dept of Computer Sciences, UTexas, Austin
Lines: 22

In article <20792.2765fbdf@merrimack.edu> yetmank@merrimack.edu writes:
>Am I the only one who feels that Columbia is starting to show her age?  This
>last mission was an absolute disaster for the orbiter.  Such problems lead this
>small time space follower to question how long it will be before Columbia is at
>fault for a major disaster.
>
>Kevin
>UUCP%"yetmank%merrimack.edu@samsung.com"

Your feelings don't seem justified to me. Except for the recurring wastewater
disposal problem (which was fixed, incidentally), all the problems I heard
about were computer/software failures specific to the Astro project. I don't
see how this implies _Columbia_ is becoming unreliable. Were there other 
problems specific to the orbiter that I'm unaware of?

Also, your reference to a "major disaster" implied to me you expected another
Challenger-type accident. We all know the cause of that accident had nothing
to do with the orbiter, or even aged-parts.

Anyway, I believe Columbia is scheduled for an overhaul next year.

--Eric