2nd February 2003, 10:08 PM
Testing the shuttles with unmaned flights over the next howevermany years would be a good idea but there are many things up there that require humans to go up with whatever the payload is. There are many sattilites and things that they can send up in unmaned rockets but there are still many other sattilites and peices of the ISS that have to be partialy assemblled in orbit. And some of the devices all ready up there will have to be replaced within the next ten years because they are obsolite or fell out of orbit. They probably will stop launces for a while while they reasurce the probem, which the think may be a peice of foam the fell off of the external fuel tank and struck the left wing (this wasn't the first time foam fell from the tank, 2 launches before Columbia a peice of foam fell of the tank and struck one of the bosters; no real damage in this incident), but Bush(I think, may have been someone else) said that the next shcedualled lunch will take place. Whether or not his is a good idea remainse to be seen, but the space program will be back up at full opperation sooner or lator.
Engineering ruined my life.