Nobody here seems to have noticed that the Dr. Daniel Mazanek who warned that what struck Columbia might not be foam but could be ice ("500 pound safe") is the same Dr. Mazanek who heads up the CAPS (Comet and Asteroid Protection System) Project.

Scott Hubbard, now with the Coluimbia Accident Investigation Board, is another of NASA's great spacecraft engineers. Fully aware of the impact hazard, and particularly wanted to see automatic image analysis systems for crater counting developed. As head of NASA Ames, this would get done. Now he's detached over here with this thing, and rightly so, I guess...

there ya go - no obsecenities today, just accurate observations as to the intelligence levels of some here... feel free to exclude yourself from this description if its appropriate...

ah well...

ep