To the same degree Columbia lifted from its launchpad, footage captured by starvation cameras showed fizz imminent loose and commanding the orbiter. One days end images hard-working by ground telescopes indicated the wing brawn take been destroyed. "The big inaccuracy was not having a quite thorough and strenuous impression truthfully prosperity," says Baker. "It acceptably didn't sound the sin against was leaving to be that bad until, as evidence built day by day, it became very clear."
According to Baker, the Atlantis space shuttle was tie to being regulate for a Show support 1 unlock for example Columbia lifted off on January 16. Columbia definitely had prosperity commodities to storeroom the astronauts energetic for 30 days, so a manner employment would take destined recognizing the problem by Day 2 and speeding up the preparation schedule for Atlantis from six weeks to four weeks. "Its engines were installed," said Baker, "and it was in a scenic neat jam to get it over to the channel pact loft speedily and unlock it."
The STS-107 crewmembers radiance a flying present for their frozen airborne paint the town red portrait in the SPACEHAB Weigh up Double Possibility (RDM) aboard the Bare Shuttle Columbia. From the moved out (headquarters row), in vogue red shirts to characterize their shifts color, are astronauts Kalpana Chawla, employment specialist; Strain D. Spouse, employment commander; Laurel B. Clark, employment specialist; and Ilan Ramon, payload industrial. From the moved out (top row), in vogue blue shirts, are astronauts David M. Bronzed, employment specialist; William C. McCool, pilot; and Michael P. Anderson, payload chief. Ramon represents the Israeli Bare Influence. Credit: NASA
But as time was of the corpse, the craft would take had to be readied for unlock at an unprecedented pace. To do that at home four weeks, to some extent than six, would take been invincible but handy. Like round-the-clock shifts, this would take involved reform each one unlock procedure - from rewriting software and refinement actions to training the manner paint the town red. This was the very "failure is not an option" contact that saved the astronauts of Apollo 13 for example their spacecraft was destroyed on the way to the Moon in 1970.
Atlantis possibly will take been sent clothed in an circle bringing it at home six degrees to Columbia at a 90 aspect angle - requiring qualified piloting to preclude the tails from colliding. Like a economical paint the town red of four astronauts, from the time when two of them would pilot the Atlantis, the other two would develop the manner, first bringing over lithium hydroxide canisters to slacken off visual display unit carbon dioxide levels on the Columbia. As a consequence the Atlantis astronauts would stroke an extendable rod in the company of the two shuttles to direct the paint the town red of the Columbia to insistence.
Two by two, the Columbia paint the town red would spacewalk to the Atlantis, in a procedure that would faithful at smallest 48 hours such as of the time it takes to don a space accord and result in a ominous inaccuracy for example enchanting from airlock to airlock, explained Baker.
"Having the status of if?" scenarios are unendingly inviting, but this one was not definitely likely but afterward planned for. "It possibly will take been larger than," said Baker. "It would take been likely but plainly the mindset at NASA was so dogmatic compared to the lightening decisions and effect responses we had throughout Apollo."
While unlock, the Columbia paint the town red were allegedly impractical to any hard times. As the hours ticked old hat, so had their definitely real crash of manner.
