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Could Atlantis have saved Columbia, inside NASA’s 2003 rescue plan and the foam strike that doomed STS-107

A foam strike 82 seconds after launch set Columbia on a fatal course, but a 2003 investigation explored a last-minute alternative, launching Atlantis on an unprecedented rescue mission. From the ...
Dark Space Official on MSN

Shuttle-C, NASA’s uncrewed heavy-lift plan that could’ve built Mars ships in orbit

In the aftermath of the Challenger disaster, NASA explored Shuttle-C—an uncrewed, shuttle-derived cargo launcher meant to deliver massive payloads, support lunar missions, and enable assembly of ...