"Rescue of Columbia crew might have been possible"
--NASA
May 24, 2003 Space Daily Article
  Comments by Bill Simon 5/27/03  



A Rescue Scenario for Columbia

In my rescue scenario (that I proposed at the time of the accident) I sent Atlantis up with two astronauts on board. In the cargo bay would have been a rack with 5 space suits attached. (Manned Maneuvering Units could have been stowed as well.)

Once on-station with Columbia, the shuttles would be oriented cargo bay to cargo bay or in whatever orientation gets worked out. (To avoid collisions and effects of thruster plumes they could be oriented at 90 degrees, one over the other, crossing at the front of their cargo bays). In any event, they only need to be close enough for the robot arm of Atlantis to have access to the cargo bay of Columbia.

Two astronauts would egress from Columbia using the two space suits that were on board for emergency purposes. Once out of the airlock, the Atlantis arm would lift the rack with the 5 space suits and place it in reach of the Columbia astronauts who are tethered to Columbia and near the airlock hatch.

The Columbia astronauts would stuff the 5 spacesuits into Columbia's already evacuated airlock. The airlock would be pressurized and the remaining 5 astronauts would suit up.

The two Columbia astronauts would hop onto the arm and Atlantis would place them in its cargo bay near the airlock. The two astronauts would then ingress and be aboard Atlantis. (Or they could stay outside to assist if there are any problems with transferring the others. They could don the Manned Maneuvering Units if necessary).

Columbia Astronauts 3 and 4 egress and are brought over by the arm. They enter Atlantis. Columbia astronauts 5 and 6 (and 7?) egress, and are brought over by the arm. They enter Atlantis. If not already out, Columbia astronaut 7 egresses and is brought over and enters Atlantis. If astronauts 1 and 2 were still outside, they would then ingress.

They strap themselves in (did anyone address where to put the additional 2 astronauts?) and go home.

In a variation of this, it may be that with the Columbia air supplies near exhaustion, depressurizing/repressurizing the airlock so many times might be a problem. If so, the 5 Columbia astronauts suit up in the cabin. Then the entire cabin is depressurized, once. They can either go out the airlock hatch or open the main hatch and go out that way. Again, two at a time (or whatever the maximum number of astronauts that the Atlantis airlock can accommodate) would enter Atlantis.
Alternate Destiny for Columbia:

If it was determined that Columbia could never return safely to Earth its orbit should have been raised, prior to the Atlantis rendezvous, to maximize its duration in orbit. Then Columbia would become the hub of our second space station. This one at the 39 degree orbital plane. It would have been a fantastic platform with the spacehabs for experiments; communications; propulsion systems; etc. And, if desired, other modules could be added over time. Details would have to be worked out. But it seems a shame to scuttle a 110 ton high-tech facility that is already in orbit. It would also have served as safe haven for others who have problems at this orbital plane.
The Real Problem with the Rescue Scenarios:

The big problem is not the rescue. It is making the decision to abandon the science mission (with serious ramifications), at its very beginning, for only a "possible" problem with the tiles. NOBODY would make that call. There just wasn't enough evidence of a serious problem and NOBODY would sanction putting the astronauts outside just to take a look.

But that raises a BIG question. Why didn't the flight controllers know the status of the tiles during the launch? The answer: because they aren't looking! One of the things that comes out of the Columbia accident is the realization that the flight controllers are literally in the dark when it comes to the status of the tiles during launch. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Proposal for Future Missions

I propose that an array of small, lightweight cameras be installed on the central tank to observe all critical shuttle tiles during launch and transmit that data to mission control. While we are at it,we should also be looking at other critical items such as the solids, etc.

If a camera system such as this had been in place on Columbia's tank, it could have given the flight controllers the confidence to call for an abort to Spain, or at least know the exact nature of the damage which would have quickly led to subsequent action that, as we are now learning, could have been taken. They wouldn't have had to wait a couple of days for an analysis of the unknown. And it is the unknown that makes a decision tough. Seeing the extent of the damage up close and in detail makes the decision for them. It's a no-brainer. And they know about it immediately.

In summary, my proposed camera system would provide the necessary data, in real-time, to know the precise status of the tiles throughout the launch right up to the time the Shuttle enters orbit.

Bill Simon

e-mail: bsimon001@nextparadigm.com
Web site: nextparadigm.com