Thanks Buck -

First off, I know we can agree that no one at NASA wanted to lose the shuttle and the crew. But somehow that is what happened, and the question now is how it happened.

Looking through all of the public statements that I've seen from ALL of the shuttle operations crew, I have not seen one of them mention modified yaw re-entry. My estimate at this point, and this is very preliminary, is that they simply did not know that this technique was possible. The next question is why they did not know about it, and how this failure came about.

The name of the shuttle manager who called off the request to the Dod for tile damage inspection images has not been released by NASA. Man, I feel sorry for him, but this concealment won't do. While I'm sure that he did the best he could, and certainly never thought that any of this would happen, my opinion right now is that he is going to have to go...

I'd like ot add that my guess is that all of these operations people are going to need counseling in dealing with the psychological effects of the loss of Columbia and its crew, and its my guess that the divers out at the reservoir (and a few others) are going to need some recognition, thanks, and some closure for their work in the debris recovery effort.

all the best -
ep