Okay, yes. It's rocket science. But it's REAL SIMPLE rocket science.
We have a problem with stuff coming off the main fuel tanks for the shuttle and striking the heat shield tiles on the shuttle, damaging them. This has been blamed for the loss of one shuttle and crew, and now we again have a possible problem looming because of a similar incident.
So, I'm blogging this everywhere I can and I even wrote NASA.
Guys. Put a deflector between the shuttle and the fuel tank. Okay? instead of the shuttle being bolted to the fuel tank, stick a sheet of metal with a curved leading edge between them. Stuff falls off fuel tank, hits metal deflector, heat tiles stay intact. Like I said, this is REAL SIMPLE rocket science. The deflector is bolted to the reusable fuel cell, so we get it back. It doesn't even have to be able to come back undamaged, as long as it doesn't let anything damage the tiles. Why does this seem so simple?
If it has been looked at, why was the idea discarded?
Okay. I said my piece.
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PROVIDENCE_BOSTON
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Aug 11 @ 4:23AM
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You might have the answer to that serious problem ! 
Keep us posted if you get a response from NASA .
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Nightowl001
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Aug 11 @ 6:11AM
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Thanks, PB. This is one of those things that I have a hard time believing no one has thought of already. Then again, I know how committees think.
How do we fix damaged heat tiles in space? How do we stop ice and frozen foam from falling off the fuel tanks? Like I said, seems simple ot me if you look at teh proper question.
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Godless
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Aug 11 @ 9:12AM
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Hey, you might be on to something there.
When the military used M16s, people who shot left handed (like myself) were constantly getting shit shot into our eyes and cartridges embedded in our cheeks and necks. For years, there was talk of designing an M16 with reversed mechanisms specifically for lefties and I believe there were even plans drawn and underway when a loan voice came up from the crowd. Someone who knew nothing about armory per se. "Why not just put a deflector right here that will stop everything and it will fall onto the ground below, between the rifle and the Marine?"
Voila! Now, granted, the A2 had to be developed and manufactured with the deflector but, it saved millions upon millions of dollars because it didn't require complete redesign.
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Americanflirt
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Aug 11 @ 9:27AM
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Yeah that might work, but how strong would the deflector need to be in prder to withstand the impact at the velocit that the shuttle is traveling when the foam is torn loose and where would you mount it so the deflector itself would not break from the strain and do greater damage to the shuttle?
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techead
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Aug 11 @ 9:43AM
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I think it's a consperiscey!!!! NASA wants everyone to think that they can't fix simple problems without billions of dollars for the research... "So whats a few lives for research" is their way of thinking. Anyone remember Apollo One? If the disaster of the day shown on TV that day hit our hearts so hard that NASA took quick action to fix the problem, and it was simple too? Fix the hatch so they could get out in a "Just in Case" problem... But today, disasters are money makers.. Tell me I'm wrong and news stations glorify it?
And this is for Godless.. I got 39 out of 40..LOL how'd you do. And even been hit buy expended rounds casings myself and I'm a righty..LMAO
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TallBlonde1
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Aug 11 @ 12:01PM
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It's a good idea but you have to consider the extra added weight and aerodynamics of adding a shield large enough and thick enough to protect from any ice damage, and as Americanflirt pointed out how do you keep it from damaging the shuttle as well if something were to go wrong. Another solution may be to insulate the tank better so the ice can't form on the outside of it. The ice forms on the tank because the temp of the fuel inside is so cold.
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Gemologist57
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Aug 11 @ 12:24PM
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All Of The Solutions Are Good Ones - Shields, Added Insulation, And The Like... Unfortunately All Involve Significant Added Weight - as many have suggested - and every ounce added to the ship means one less ounce that can be carried into space inside the ship... So, Unfortunately, there have to be trade-offs... I hate to say this, But Space Travel will always be dangerous - no matter the safety features we add on, But per man-mile traveled it is remarkable that We have lost so few of these amazingly brave souls - who are all well aware of all of the risks... I remember one astronaut saying that one of the first things they are told is that they are sitting on as much explosive power as a small atomic bomb... We would have to be pretty stupid not to realize that this is dangerous...
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sputter49
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Aug 11 @ 11:07PM
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WEIGHT!
If a deflection shield was thought practical... NASA would have done it from the get-go... but it apparently was deemed unnecessary and impractical. I concur with their decision.
Accidents happen... and unlike most humans... NASA learns from mistakes. It is unfortunate either Shuttle were lost... but in ALL things human... accidents happen.
An excellent example... airlines. There have been far more lives lost just flying the "friendly skies" than those going to space.
Yet another wonderful example... highways. How many lives are lost each day to auto accidents?
How many lives are lost to AIDS, drugs, alcohol... old age?
My question now is... why are you overly concerned with NASA's track record... verses airlines or auto accidents... etc?
NASA has far more to lose in comparison, thus LEARNS from its mistakes. Too bad that isn't the case with the other "travel" industries. Oh wait!! NASA in fact aids in the other travels industries as well!
NASA ain't perfect... but given its track record in comparison to other "human" endeavors... its pretty damn close!!
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Sugar_Lee
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Aug 15 @ 10:29AM
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Hansumm
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Aug 15 @ 3:47PM
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night, I like it when the anyman can come forth and offer his opinion. Never change, it is what makes you a valueable member of society.
Most people would be surprised at the ideas that come from folks like night etc.
Whether the idea is the solultion does not matter if you had the answer used, what matters is that you were thinking for yourself without being forced to or asked to. Many just sit and hypothesize life away and critisize others who do. Big ideas or discoveries often spring from a garden that was cultivated with many little ideas. 
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LongRanger278
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Aug 18 @ 3:26AM
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The space shuttle accelerates from 0 to 18,000 mph in about 8 seconds in a vertical position which is 99% of the problem. NASA scientist know this that's why the next generation shuttle's will launch much like a airplane. Less structural stress that way...
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SweetNapaGuy
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Aug 23 @ 1:43AM
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Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
In their exploration, they stirred people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.
The brave pair will never be forgotten because every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.
-- Nixon's contingency speech in the event of a stranded Apollo 11 Landing
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