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From: dietz@SLB-DOLL.CSNET (Paul Dietz)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: SPACE Digest V6 #203
Message-ID: <8603132340.AA02897@s1-b.arpa>
Date: Thu, 13-Mar-86 17:04:00 EST
Article-I.D.: s1-b.8603132340.AA02897
Posted: Thu Mar 13 17:04:00 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Mar-86 19:07:40 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 15

>I don't understand all the fuss about the seals and why it should take
>long to fix.  Evidently, O-rings were a bad idea in this case.  When
>they've decided that this was the trouble, surely it should take only a
>few weeks to invent a suitable band-aid to fix the problem for the next
>year or two of flights, while a better method can be perfected.  The
>pressures and temperatures seem quite modest, until the seal breaks.

First, they have to identify why the seal failed  -- lots of tests will
have to be done.  They have to identify all the other hidden flaws
in the shuttle system (there are likely to be a lot of them, as Young's memo
shows).  They have to redesign the problem areas in a way that will avoid
the problems.  Then they have to verify the fixes actually work, and refix
the ones that don't.  I estimate three years until the next flight.  Another
explosion soon would likely ground the shuttles permanently, and NASA won't
risk that.