><i>...have an emergancy change to its flight path to reach the ISS...</i><p>Long answer: Theoretically, if the decision was made right <b>at that very instant</b> (no time for any discussion) the crew could have taken manual control (no flight software) and turned the vehicle so that they could <i>possibly</i> have gotten to an orbit that <i>might</i> have had the same inclination. This is a SWAG based on the assumption that stage 1 flight is all about gaining altitude rather than downrange velocity - I seem to remember that the vehicle was doing a little over Mach 1 when the foam hit.<p>Having said that, it wouldn't have done any good. <i>Columbia</i> was significantly heavier than the other Orbiters and, with the heavy research module in the back, even if they could have managed the plane change, it would have ended up in a <b>much</b> lower orbit that wouldn't have been stable for more than a few days. Add to that the fact that ISS phasing wasn't even a consideration for the launch - even if (by some miracle) they had made the correct inclination at the correct altitude, the Station would probably have been on the other side of the Earth.<p>Short answer: No.<p>><i>Would there have been enough turnaround time to get Atlantis. . .up as a rescue ship</i><p>If they had detected the breach right away, and if they had put the crew and ship into survival mode immediately they got on orbit, and if they had rushed Atlantis' preparations and if weather, equipment and people had come together prefectly with no glitches then yes, they could <b>just</b> have made it.<p>>...and can two shuttles hook up in space?<p>No. At least <i>Columbia</i> couldn't have since she had the internal airlock. I'm not sure if two external airlocks can be mated.</p></p></p></p></p></p></p>