Ok, dimwit, one by one

"Here, good 'ol Mr. Grondine has gone and wracked his brain to come up with the solution to all our shuttle problems and you guys go and lambast him down to the innermost layer of hell. FOR SHAME!"

The shuttle is about as reliable as a zeppelin. This is just my best estimate as to some of the "recommendations" the Board will issue. They are paliative; Administrator Okeefe had already correctly called for both a mini-shuttle and aerospace craft.

"I mean, he has even discovered that the 'dogleg' re-entry path of the shuttle"

G*d d*mn but you're confused. "Dogleg" refers to yaw.

"is to avoid pissin' off them thar ruskies and chinee! I mean, I bet not even the NASA engineers who came up with the de-orbit strategy knew that. How insanely brilliant, Mr. Grondine!"

Actually, the shuttle de-orbit path was developed at the height of the cold war, and specifically designed to avoid overflight of the Soviet Union and China. Times have changed; normal courtesies can be expected, particularly in the case of emergency.

"And, let us pause to think of the stowable sideways ejection seats for the mid-deck, whatever it means to have a stowable ejection seat! This way, 'ejecting' astronauts will simply be have their arms ripped of first as they emerge into the hypersonic plasma-filled conditions instead of their heads (as with a 'upright', nonstowable ejection seat!"

You need to look up the concept of "frei punkt". The trauma induced by de-compression indicates the point at which the crew compartment failed.

"And this, I sigh at the pure genius:

Mr. EP Grondine wrote:

"7) The panel with the sensor indicator lights needs to be redone, if it has not been redone already. In this case, key sensors had gone off nominal, and the pilot had not noticed, but instead his attention was called to the failures by controllers. The indicator lights need to be displayed by sensor location on the shuttle, and in a more central position, perhaps in several displays broken down by fault light system function."

Yes, I absolutely agree, it should spell out in 'space-rated low-power' LEDs "YER SCREWED, NYEH NYEH"... Just so the astronauts will meet their maker with proper humility after a good taunt or two from the panel."

Crucial minutes were lost in which the pilot and commander could have adjusted Columbia's attitude and yaw.

"MR Grondine obviously understands something that not even NASA knows. Obviously the astronauts could have done something at mach 18 under computer control to save themselves in the event of a major thermal and subsequent structural failure. AND, that the mere 7 astronauts can monitor the shuttle systems better than the legions of ground controllers. AND WE HEAP SCORN ON HIS BRILLIANCE!!! SHAME!"

Computer control programs were not developed earlier to deal with the re-entry of a tile damaged shuttle, nor were the pilot simulations set up for this.

You're not even on the same page.

"Mr. Grondine also regurgitated:
"don't know if there's any one method or several methods to improve listening and communication skills in manned operations, including station, but clearly improvements need to be made."

Yes! See, all of us rigorous formal thinkers clearly do not get it! It was all just a failure to communicate and listen to one another. Physics had nothing to do with it!"

Physics had everything to do with it. The results of analysis by physics were not communicated properly, from the analysts through Mission Control, and on to the pilot and commander.

"Mr grondine also points out, quite rightly:
"9) Shuttle hydraulic systems need to be isolated/replaced so that single failure does not lead to total hydraulic system failure."

Absolutely. It is so important to have intact hydraulics JUST in case you are torn to tidbits and crisp gobbits at Mach 18."

The first rule is to fly the plane, and you want to have as much control as possible whatever the situation.

"Now. I must say. I AGREE (ahhhh! nooooo! it huuuurts) With relocating the fuel port, IF INDEED the fuel port on the left side is a source of Ice debriding."

That's okay - you're just slow. And whether or not you agree with me now on the other points is pretty much moot.

"I also agree that the Shuttle should service the ISS and should be considered more a part of the ISS 'system' than its own (largely redundant) orbital laboratory."

Good.

"However, these things are already under consideration by NASA, as I understand it, and have been advocated through the press."

You don't seem to understand that NASA does not have autonomy now. There are 2 organizations in charge, the Board and the Safety Panel; more importantly, the Senators and Representatives will have the final say over future NASA actions.

bye