atchison@umn-cs.UUCP (10/08/85)
The reason that I understand why they stopped painting the external tank wasn't the added weight, but the added cost. As long as the tank wasn't going to be reused, why waist money on paint? Anyway, I'd think they would be willing to pay a little to paint the shuttles themselves. Presumably, they would have to leave the underside black, but maybe not. Even if they couldn't paint the bottom, they could do something interesting with the rest of it. Lee Atchison ...!ihnp4!umn-cs!atchison