Repair SS at ISS filling station!

It seems to me this proposal doubles the price of a Space Shuttle mission.
Jay Huebner

[mailto:victoriatangoman@...

> Dear SSI folks,
> I am a little surprised there have not been a whole group of
solutions to
> the recent Space Shuttle problem being posted to this group. But,
I have an
> idea I would like to try on you-all. Use the International Space
Station as
> a filling station in the sense that it would have the resources to
inspect
> and do minor repairs on the shuttle tiles so it could complete its
mission,
> in the same since that many filling stations on Earth can do minor
repair on
> autos so they can safely get back on the road. It may be this
would have
> avoided the Columbia disaster if it would have gone to the ISS
before trying
> re-entry. Now I know the Columbia could not get there from the
orbit that
> was chosen for it, and it did not have docking resources, but duh,
those
> were decisions someone made and so don't make those choices any
more. What
> do you think? Jay Huebner

My concern with your suggestion is the sheer immenisty of scale that
the tile operation involves and having to have the ability to fix a
tile in orbit. All of those NASA people who just glue tiles onto the
shuttle, and the incredible number of individually shaped tiles.

I would think that other options might solve the problem.

I would suggest that before a shuttle is launched a backup shuttle
is ready to go, or within a week of ready to go. Or even a Russian
Soyuz. Insread of having the missions spaced 3 months apart, twin
the missions and have a longer interval between twinned missions.

Also, a small robotic flyer that is carried on each shuttle. It is
released and does a fly-by inspection with its cameras and other
gear to detect for problems. Alternatively, the ISS has some
permanent sensors with which it can observe the Shuttle in whichever
orbit it happens to be.

Thus, if there is a problem detected, the stand-by shuttle is
launched with the necessary equipment to effect repairs, or bring
the crew back if necessary while leaving the shuttle in orbit to be
repaired or brought back at a future time.

TangoMan