Will NASA cease retrieving SRBs?



It just occurred to me this morning while watching NASA TV's pre-launch
coverage during some talk about the SRB recovery ships that at some
point in the next dozen launches or so (perhaps substantially less),
there will be no real logistical need to retrieve the SRBs. Enough
flight-rated segments will be refurbished or in the pipeline so that it
won't be necessary to recover the boosters from a logistical
standpoint. I understand they are always useful from a post-flight
forensics standpoint (to check for O-ring performance and examine for
unusual stress/strain or corrosion, et cetera), but with so few flights
left, do such concerns justify the costs of retrieval? Especially
since sometime in the near future (if it hasn't happened already),
there will be no necessity to refurbish the flown segments at all.

What are your thoughts?

--
Herb Schaltegger
"You can run on for a long time . . . sooner or later, God'll cut you
down." - Johnny Cash
<http://www.angryherb.net>

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