The Columbia rescue plan that might have been

[cartman]

As part of the post-mortem report on the space shuttle Columbia disaster, there was an appendix titled "STS-107 In-Flight Options Assessment", which described what might have happened if the wing damage had been detected while in orbit. Some pretty fascinating stuff is in there on how a potential rescue might have taken place.

The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia | Ars Technica

[cartman]

Bump for the anniversary of the event.

I remember that I was in DC when this happened. I had just woken up, and turned on the TV in the hotel room. I had it on mute, and was wondering why they were showing pictures of the astronauts. I called my mom and dad, and asked them if they noticed anything, since it said the shuttle disintegrated over DFW. They said they heard something, but figured it was a wreck on the highway. I drove past the air and space museum on my way to the airport, and there were already a bunch of people gathered out in front.

Later on, one of my uncles volunteered for the debris search in East Texas. His group was the one that found the last of the remains of the astronauts in what was left of the crew area.

[Peregrine]

If anyone has watched the show on Science called Secret Space Escapes - they have had a few segments on how potentially similar problems were fixed mid-mission using the ISS. Of course that is with the hindsight of what happened to Columbia, and with access to the ISS.

[spleen1015]

I'll always remember this like most people, but this is a big memory for me because this is the same day we brought my daughter home from the hospital when she was born.

[bhlloy]

Sounds like from reading that there's a pretty good chance it would have been 11 dead and two shuttles lost if that rescue plan had ever been put into place. Fascinating read though.