A sad day for the space community.
started in earnest.
A very interesting article written for the non-space enthusiast and
the author calls for grounding the whole shuttle fleet and
accurately points out the unholy alliance between NASA,
Congressional leaders and the United Space Alliance and other
contractors.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030210-
418518,00.html
I'll stake out my ground right now; the shuttles won't be grounded
because the influence of the above interests trumps rational
decision making processes. Further, the foreign relations blowback
of not being able to complete the ISS, with the prospect of Russian
Soyuz flights sending astronauts up there just to tend it and not
being able to send up anything other than supplies to support the
tenders. Not to mention the banshee screams of all those who depend
on the ISS pork barrel and fear its demise.
Also, I don't think anyone in Washington has the backbone to
confront the political symbolism of failure. No, the national spirit
is embodied within the program and when the fleet once again
achieves flight readiness status, then the national spirit will be
revitalized. I don't think any politician can sell the need to
cancel the shuttle program and replace it with a more modern and
rational approach.
TangoMan
I very much agree with you, and it is a very sad day for the space
community. Seeing John Glenn (not that I always agree with him) and other
former astronauts saying they would go back at a moments notice was
encouraging. One thing I hope comes out of this tragedy is that the unholy
alliance you spoke of is broken, that finally we get away from the dependence
of the shuttle program. My hope is that the government finally encourages
the commercial sector with more than lip service to developing a better
vehicle. I'm not saying the shuttle shouldn't fly again. If it is safe for
it to do so, I'd like to see Atlantis make its next scheduled flight on March
1. That's not going to happen of course. Neither is the rest of what I hope
for I fear. It's just that when such a tragedy takes place, I'd rather honor
the sacrifice with something positive then all the negativism of halting a
grand Endeavor. As was pointed out this morning, far more people were lost
exploring the west (and I'd love to see the figures) than the 17 people lost
in our manned space program. Their loss, while tragic, should embolden us to
fulfill their dreams.
almost two years ago, people questioned racing and did the same Monday
morning quarterbacking. One comment that caught my attention is another
driving saying he had told his family that if it ever happened to him that
they should know he died doing what he loved. I think it goes without saying
the seven members of Columbia died doing what they loved, and it is in that
spirit they should be remembered.
DBJ
> A sad day for the space community.
>
> But that doesn't stop the Monday morning quarterbacking which has
> started in earnest.
>
> A very interesting article written for the non-space enthusiast and
> the author calls for grounding the whole shuttle fleet and
> accurately points out the unholy alliance between NASA,
> Congressional leaders and the United Space Alliance and other
> contractors.
>
> http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030210-
> 418518,00.html
>
> I'll stake out my ground right now; the shuttles won't be grounded
> because the influence of the above interests trumps rational
> decision making processes. Further, the foreign relations blowback
> of not being able to complete the ISS, with the prospect of Russian
> Soyuz flights sending astronauts up there just to tend it and not
> being able to send up anything other than supplies to support the
> tenders. Not to mention the banshee screams of all those who depend
> on the ISS pork barrel and fear its demise.
>
> Also, I don't think anyone in Washington has the backbone to
> confront the political symbolism of failure. No, the national spirit
> is embodied within the program and when the fleet once again
> achieves flight readiness status, then the national spirit will be
> revitalized. I don't think any politician can sell the need to
> cancel the shuttle program and replace it with a more modern and
> rational approach.
>
> TangoMan
>
"He turns not back who is bound to a star."
Leonardo da Vinci
I hope that the American public, and, of course, their opinion setters (the
media) show some backbone. I fear the possibilty of the 'withdraw when
frightened' reflex of the same.
I agree that the shuttles need not be grounded though
for slightly different reasons then you mentioned. No
politician wants to be known as the one who killed the
manned space program. It is important to remember
that NASA was created to promote foreign policy.
While initially it was aimed against the Soviet Union
it has emerged (under Bill Clinton) as a symbol of
America's poster child for international cooperation.
You can talk all about the science and engineering of
NASA but it is the politics that drive it.
America in space with the shuttle and ISS. Its bad
however because science and engineering are just
byproducts and are not necessarily a factor in the
decision process. NASA does do great science with
incredible missions like Cassini, Galileo, Hubble and
the Earth Science missions. However, it is the manned
program that makes headlines so it is the manned
program that politicians love.
Personally, one thing I have always hated is how NASA
is overseen in Congress. It is on the same budget as
HUD and Veteran affair. So everytime you want to
increase money to NASA, you've got to cut money going
to poor housing or veteran hospitals. For this
reason, it is hard for congressmen to justify to their
constituents that they cannot have money for inner
city renewal because the space program needs a new,
updated space launcher.
Like yourself and many others on this list I imagine,
I would like to see NASA commit to an updated cheaper,
reusable human spacecraft. However, until there is a
critical event to push such a project through
Congress, its not gonna happen. Now one positive
outcome of this disaster is that it could be used as
that critical event needed to trigger new development.
- Ryan
--- "victoriatangoman victoriatangoman@...
> A sad day for the space community.
>
> But that doesn't stop the Monday morning
> quarterbacking which has
> started in earnest.
>
> A very interesting article written for the non-space
> enthusiast and
> the author calls for grounding the whole shuttle
> fleet and
> accurately points out the unholy alliance between
> NASA,
> Congressional leaders and the United Space Alliance
> and other
> contractors.
>
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030210-
--- In ssi_list@... "Valens Agnitio"
> I hope that the American public, and, of course, their opinion
setters (the
> media) show some backbone. I fear the possibilty of the 'withdraw
when
> frightened' reflex of the same.
reaction to the Challenger tragedy, which I posted 2 years ago at my
website. It is equally applicable to the Columbia tragedy, so I hope
it will be seen by as many people as possible. If you would like to
read it, it's at http://www.sylviaengdahl.com/challngr.htm .
Sylvia Engdahl
My fear is the exact opposite. The spin being put on this by NASA and
the media is that of the crew being martyrs to the cause of manned
space flight and therefore the only response to this tragedy is more
manned space flight. This sort of retoric is going to make it very
difficult to have reasoned discussions.
Mitchell James
www.innertransit.org
--- Mitchell James
mejames@...
> My fear is the exact opposite. The spin being put
> on this by NASA and
> the media is that of the crew being martyrs to the
> cause of manned
> space flight and therefore the only response to this
> tragedy is more
> manned space flight. This sort of retoric is going
> to make it very
> difficult to have reasoned discussions.
> Mitchell James
> www.innertransit.org
>
> > I hope that the American public, and, of course,
> their opinion setters
> > (the
> > media) show some backbone. I fear the possibilty
> of the 'withdraw when
> > frightened' reflex of the same.
>
> AKA the CHALLENGER SYNDROM??? " Oh golly, we lost 7
people. Lets stick our heads in a bucket and wish it
all away." Let's see, there are 6.1 billion people on
this planet. Those 7 we just lost have already been
replaced a 1000 times over. We're in no danger of
running out of brave, skilled, gifted people. But
understand children, millions died to settle America,
and few complained about the loss of strangers. If we
continue to lose so few people in our exploitation of
space, it will be because we haven't committed to its
mastery and a hundred years from now we'll still be
playing in our freaking crib. As much as I dislike
George the Flaming Bush, I think he may actually keep
our public focus on the future. ,,,or not,,, wait and
see.