Space Shuttle Tragedy

I would like to offer condolences to the families and pray for the souls lost in today's disaster.

I am sure many here include themselves in the NASA family. I know that Nova has many students and alumni that have worked for NASA and allied organizations. My thoughts are with you too.

We must give a tremendous amount of credit to the advances made in education and our daily lives due to space exploration. I hope we all bow our heads for these pioneers. Let's also keep the international team aboard the space station in our thoughts as events and plans to return them to earth unfold.

John

 

I work with NASA and think things will change tremendously now. NASA made a decision about 3 months ago to not make a new model shuttle, and was going towards just upgrading the existing line. I think they will revisit this.

They also cancelled the escape module (after one prototype was made), and now the Soyuz is the only option to get our crew home in the Inernational Space Station, which can only get one down at a time.

My heart is with the families, I hope they did not suffer, and my prayers are with them.

 

It is sad and tragic, but miniscule compared to the plane crashes that take place every year, killing hundreds or thousands of people who did not take on the extraordinary risk of space flight.

Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" really gives one the feel for the test flight/space flight community, especially as it regards risks. While the movie was good, it could not possibly convey the emotion of the book. Highly recommended.

I hope they put another shuttle up there right away, instead of waiting one or two years.

 

I think we should know what has happened before we start flying the space shuttle fleetagain. The entire fleet was built in the 70's and early 80's. This one's virgin voyage was in 1981, if it was an issue of reliability, I would not want one going up and this happening again. We don't seem to be in a hurry anyway, NASA has less budget due to the "war" coming and the budgets have shifted to defense, why push it if we have the data, just need to analyze.

 

Online, I understand that Bush was going to propose revive the Orion (?) nuclear propulsion project as "Prometheus?" with an eye to having unmmaned probes to Mars, paving the way for eventual and relatively speedy manned exploration to the Red Planet. But the announcement did not make into the SOU speech.

This disaster re-opens all kinds of re-thinking regarding space policy and objectives.

Since the fall of communism, and since the end of the Cold War, an institution born of it has languished without real objectives and without the real partnership (i.e., Russian) originally envisioned; the Int'l Space Station withered under budget cuts and dimminished interest in the 90s.

There is now an opportunity for real debate about what, or what not, to do--and to redefine why.

--Orson

 

One debate that I have already heard on television is whether we need manned space flights for so many of these missions. Would unmanned space craft be able to complete most of the current research and experiments we conduct these days? (Except, of course, the experiements on the effects of space flight on humans.) Unmanned flights would certainly be cheaper.

 

One thing is certain: it's only a matter of time before human life on this planet is eradicated. The sooner we move to spread ourselves throughout the universe, the more likely we are to extend our existence. I hope that, in many billions of years, our descendants will exist by harvesting energy emitted from the supermassive black holes that will likely dominate, and can somehow find a way to survive if the universe is reborn in another big bang. Of course that isn't very likely if we're content to sit upon this rock, bickering about our insignificant differences and absorbed in short-term aspirations, until a large enough meteor or asteroid slams hard into the Earth's reset button. We sure wouldn't want to risk leaving, though.

I mourn all the lives that have been lost in the infancy of our ventures beyond Earth's atmosphere, and I especially have sympathy for their families, but these men and women would not have been involved if they hadn't believed strongly that they were working in the best interest of mankind, and they were certainly aware of the personal risks they were taking. I wonder that seven lives lost in the pursuit of something which holds profound significance for our future could potentially have a negative impact upon that very thing, yet we're content to consume ourselves (and our resources) with relatively petty conflicts that we know will certainly result in the forfeiture of many times that number of lives. It's incredible to me that space programs have become such a low priority that new development barely crawls, and any setback is enough reason to consider putting the whole thing on hold. If we can't get past our game of Risk, and see beyond the tips of our own noses, then perhaps we will (or should?) just hit that reset button ourselves...

 

Personally, I love a good disaster. People come out of the woodwork to pontificate (as if their opinions really matter) and provide lots of humorous fodder.

Frankly, the only thing I'm bummed about is that the disaster screwed up yesterday's television schedule.

Ah, well, quel dommage.
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These comments are meant to offend everyone equally. If, for some reason you are not offended, please write me with a description of yourself including your name, age, race, weight, country of birth, religious views, political party, strong opinions, physical disabilities and anything else that you are touchy about, and I will try to offend you in a future comment.

 

Well, at least you are being an equal opportunity jerk...


clint

 

Perhaps some of us *care* when disasters occur. We feel pain when others die. And for many of us the space program is somehow symbolic of humanity's dreams and aspirations. It moves us to see such graphic evidence that significant endeavors are not without risk.

We all have opinions on these things, as is natural. Some of us want to express them. That's a good thing.

I'm not offended, Steve. What I feel is sadness.

 

Bill,

Thanks.

John

 

Levicoff,

Whatever you may think about the posts before yours, seven HUMAN BEINGS died on the Columbia. Comments about your inconvenienced television watching being the only "bummer" are callous and immature.

BA + MA + PhD = child.

 

I wasn't going to respond, since ignorance is bound to be found on the board, but with the other comments on strings about degree mill diplomas and affiliation with degree mills by SteveLevicoff, I guess I understand the twisted humor. Values are something that are made, and as we all can see, does not exist in everyone.

Not that I agree, but I guess that is what is great about our country and this board, even comments that have no value can be said.

 

kristie7

Steve takes the field of ignorant comment to a whole new level.

Levicoff does have a long history of publishing and exposing what he believes to be degree mills. Kind of like a gay Dr. Bear with attitude.

 

One word...schmuck!!

 

John Craparo: The Romans had a word for it--pietas.

 

Uncle Janko: pax frater

John

 

Queue Steve Levicoff''s infamous

BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA

post.......................

 

You know,

The fact that this happened is very sad. However, how do you think those guys up on the space station feel like right now? Do you think they are going to be a little nervous during reentry, coming home? I would, that's for certain.

//Bill

 

How we are going to get them home is the question.