An example of how government does not do it better.
Not everyone was convinced with the Crater result though. A NASA engineer is quoted from an email exchange as writing:
“As a reference if the debris was 1.211kg… the kinetic energy would have been equivalent to a 500lb safe impacting at 75mph. If the debris was 28.7kg, that would be the equivalent of a 500lb safe hitting the wing at 365mph. If the wing is off.. or has a big hole in it you’re not going to make the runway. Any more activity today on the tile damage or, are people just relegated to just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best?”
Options for further observations were suggested, but summarily dismissed by bureaucrats and bean counters, as too costly and unnecessary given the Crater analysis findings. A spacewalk was an obvious solution, but not something that was planned for the mission, thus given the associated risks it was not deemed favourable. Also on the cards were remote observations using ground based telescopes or US Navy spy satellites, but access to these systems was also refused on a cost basis.
via Space Shuttle Columbia disaster remembered 10 years on • The Register.