More on the Space Shuttle

Slate has one of the best layman’s explanations I’ve seen for the reasons why the Endeavor has a gouge in its underbelly.

If you’re too lazy to click on the article, the executive summary goes something like this:  The big brown thing under the shuttle (the external fuel tank) requires insulation to keep its fuel at very cold (cryogenic) temperatures. This insulation is applied by crews in massive amounts of safety equipment. If there is any inconsistency in the installation of the foam (done before each mission), then there is a chance that pockets of supercooled gas trapped under the foam during application can rapidly expand during lift off (boom!) and force pieces of foam into the underbelly of the shuttle. 

I think one of the most astounding things that I read in the article is that over 80% of the shuttle missions reviewed by NASA had some kind of problem with this foam. Is it the age of the shuttle fleet that makes the orbiter more susceptible to damage now?

Everything that I read just reiterates that it is time for us to have a new method for getting our people back and forth into space. We’re essentially using the same methods that the Nazis used to bomb London–isn’t there something better by now?