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I'm not necessarily the praying type... but I pray for the seven astronauts that just successfully launched into LEO.
Of course, launching isn't the easiest part, but it is not the hardest and it is where much can go wrong. With the previous two shuttle disasters (as I explain in this paper), a draft near the jet-stream layer of our atmosphere caused problems: with Challenger, this draft caused a solid rocket booster to flex, breach and send white hot propellant into the red liquid fuel tank; with Columbia, this draft caused a loose piece of foam to hit the leading wing edge and punch a whole into it.
So, I'll be very interested in two things in the coming days:
Did the shuttle encounter any peculiar drafts during launch? Some of this can be ascertained from how the exhaust trail breaks up. If it did, the inspection could be very important.
How useful will the digital imaging inspection tools be? The astronauts will deploy a few different means of inspecting the integrity of the shuttle's outer skin. We'd like to see what they find and how well the tools they use work.