One one line - about people tinkering - what's to say us Aussies aren't tinkerers either? An Aussie's shed is almost sacred territory, no matter what's in it! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Though the question also has to be asked, "ANY busload?" I'm sure there are plenty of busloads of all sorts of people - Americans, Britons, Australians, whatever - who could sit in a stranded bus like a bunch of gormless idiots, patiently awaiting rescue, or loudly complaining about the quality of bus services these days...

On another line - about leaving the debris cloud behind - I also wonder a bit about any acceleration being likely to leave original debris behind. But I figure if debris is constantly being expelled from the SM, then it'll share the SM's current velocity.

After all, with everything in free fall, and no atmosphere to generate friction, all sorts of rubbish could remain attached to the ruined SM, with a lot less strength than autumn leaves clinging to the branches. All that would be needed to dislodge it would be a slight knock somewhere inside the CM/LM - just enough to loosen that last tie.