RTF Update 

Per The New York Times:
The difficulty of developing an in-flight inspection and repair system may force NASA to consider alternative approaches if it wants to resume flying the space shuttle next spring, an oversight group said Wednesday. ...
Among the possible alternatives:
Since all planned shuttle missions are to the International Space Station, alternatives to boom inspection include having astronauts making spacewalks for close-up looks at the shuttle and readying the station to serve as a lifeboat for the crew of a damaged shuttle that cannot be repaired.
In other words, it sounds like Loss Of Vehicle is being considered as an acceptable alternative. To be sure, thermal-protection-related LOV has occured only once in 113 flights, so it's not something that's likely to happen again in the future. Accepting this as an alternative is probably based somewhat on the assumption that it's probably safe to fly a few missions without a repair technique, since the odds are way against you needing it. And, if you do, you have a contingency that prevents loss of crew. Still, it's interesting to see that we've reached a point in the program where LOV is considered an acceptable possibility. And, that's not all bad--it means the agency is reaching the point of throwing its cap over the wall for moving beyond the Shuttle program.

:: :: 08:29 :: David :: [permalink] ::