I read somewhere that Columbia, the only of shuttles, was not equipped for docking with ISS.
Could you check that ?

I wonder if one could adjust the trajectory of descent if you know it is probable you'll be
losing protection tiles.

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I read somewhere that Columbia, the only of shuttles, was not equipped for docking with ISS.
Could you check that ?

Columbia was not logistically in the ISS program, that's true. Was it not equipped for docking? Let me see waht I can find...

actually Columbia cannot go to the International Space Station right now. It does not have what we call an external docking system, or the orbital docking system as we sometimes call it, which would allow it to dock to the International Space Station.

You are right, no proper docking lock. Somebody from ISS would have to walk down to the shuttle with extra space suits! (I know, I know: suits are personal, but perhaps a "wrong" suit could be used for a short walk, if it is a matter of life and death.)

I wonder if one could adjust the trajectory of descent if you know it is probable you'll be
losing protection tiles.

If the tiles are not well attached, they are going to be lost whatever the trajectory. I cannot imagine there is any part of the vehicle surface where the external forces would be so soft as to let what is essentially a partially detached tile stay stuck.

Tiles are a weak spot in the design. Perhaps the weakest spot, because I do not see how it could be fixed at all (save for developing an even stronger glue, if that is a solution).

Shuttles are not a particularly good idea anyway. They are too expensive to operate, and the failure rate is too high. But it is good to have more than one way to do things, and in addition to the (succesful, IMHO) Soyuz capsule, it would be good to have an alternative. Just something more reliable than what we have now.

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