I think it's time they start thinking about seriously retiring this program. These orbiters are all pretty old and have gone above and beyond what was initially expected of them. How many more safe launches can they expect to have? It's always been risky, but it seems even more so now.
I'm really worried about the astronauts and am just hoping they'll all come back safe and sound. NASA's employees are some of the smartest people on earth, but I think bureaucracy gets in the way of them making good decisions sometimes.
