I mean that when they finally did the test, the was that SIZE. Big enough to put your head into. The resolution of the spy sat. cameras is not known, and the size of the hole is not known, but it was probably large enough to spot easily.
Unfortunately, this Shuttle did not have an arm. If it had they might have checked with that. Although I expect the managers would not have allowed even that check. They were determined not to allow any bad news, and not to allow anyone below them to make any decisions that might reflect badly on NASA. These events were well documented in an extensive investigation, but they did not trigger an "uproar." They triggered intense and largely successful efforts to cover up the facts and whitewash the truth. The same thing happened after the Three Mile Island disaster. An NRL engineer who warned that the valve had malfunctioned twice and it was likely to happen again with disastrous consequences was forced out. The managers who had ignored his recommendation and later ordered him to shut up were given large cash bonuses and promotions. That is the way the world works. If cold fusion ever succeeds I am confident that the establishment people who opposed it will take credit for its success. They will be promoted, rewarded and lionized. The people who worked to bring it about -- including me -- will be given "the frozen boot," as the Russians say. No good deed goes unpunished. That is the way the world works now, and always has, and probably always will. - Jed
