From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: What happens if the doors won't close?
Date: 2 Apr 1999 22:23:00 GMT

<<What happens if the doors won't close?>>

There's always a trained-for supplied-for EVA and tools to manually close the
doors -- a crank and lines -- and manually close the latches. There's enough
flexure that sometimes the latch might not reach the opposing structure, but
thermal conditioning makes 'em flex enough.

It is a worry, the doors are load-bearing during entry, without the added
strength the orbiter might bend or break in the middle.