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The shuttles were supposed to last 100 missions. Columbia was on her 28th. The demands of the ISS are going to ensure that Atlantis, Endeavour, and Discovery will recieve the modifications to prevent what happened to Columbia from happening again. Simultaneously, NASA needs funding to continue work on a replacement. That program got its budget axed big time because of budget reasons. NASA officials also said that the budget cuts may affect safety issues. But you have to remmeber once the tiles are gone, the metals and composites behind it won't last every long. It comes down to time.
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