The shuttle break up.....

[Jim Watson]

I am very pessimistic.
There are still people in orbit on the Space Station.
I predict that there will be a preliminary investigation of a
length depending on their supplies and endurance. Then a
carefully inspected shuttle with minimum crew will take them
off. The last man out will turn off the lights.

I think it was Jerry Pournelle who said: "I was thrilled to see
the first man on the moon. I never dreamed I would see the
last." I consider it likely that the US manned space program is
over. Unless and until somebody else accomplishes so much we
must resume for prestige and security. There are plenty of
people who will fly anything, but there is not the institutional
courage to pay the money and let them take the risks.

"Noisy" Rhysling was more optimistic:

Let the sweet fresh breezes heal me
As they rove around the girth
Of our lovely mother planet
Of the cool, green hills of Earth.

We rot in the moulds of Venus,
We retch at her tainted breath.
Foul are her flooded jungles,
Crawling with unclean death.

[ --- the harsh bright soil of Luna ---
--- Saturn's rainbow rings ---
--- the frozen night of Titan --- ]

We've tried each spinning space mote
And reckoned its true worth:
Take us back again to the homes of men
On the cool, green hills of Earth.

The arching sky is calling
Spacemen back to their trade.
ALL HANDS! STAND BY! FREE FALLING!
And the lights below us fade.

Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet ---

We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the fleecy skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.

R.A. Heinlein

 

[Art Eatman]

The Russians have a launch scheduled to the space station in the next few days, per something I read somewhere in today's net-browsing...

Art

 

[jmbg29]

The last man out will turn off the lights.

The good news is that the one thing that all adventurers and heroes share, is courage.

There will never be a "last" man or woman off our space stations. At least not as long as there is a human race.

There are many people in this world that long for regression, for a diminishing of human capacity. They have many names, but in reality they are no more significant than a small dog nipping at our heels. Those that dare will always win, always.

Special note to the death-cult nuts of the world and their dupe sympathizers. We can and do send men and women of the world out beyond the reach of your understanding. Whether it be to heaven's heights, or the deep of the sea, they go, gladly, in search of the next great thing that humans can do. In doing so, they make even your pathetic, hide-in-a-hole, lives better.

We, especially those worthy of the name American, will never, never, be defeated. We will never be a part of your theocracy, or in the case of the pinko dupes, never be a part of your socialist, collectivist utopia. So, do yourselves a favor, and get it now, and get it right.

On our worst day (and this certainly qualifies as one of them) our way of life, our achievement, our strength, and our faith, eclipses your wildest dreams.

Our heroes go to God lifting up all of humanity, not tearing a hole in humanity's heart.

So cross us. I dare you.

 

[Bog]

We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on friendly skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.

Robert Anson Heinlein, The Green Hills of Earth

 

[az_ccw]

Have you seen this CNN News Article ?

If anyone out there has any doubts that Saddam is evil . . . this article should give you the obvious answer.

My prayers go out to the family of our heros who lost their life today in service of our country. May God have mercy on their souls. This event will bring our country together again! And we will move forward.

 

[Zander]

I'd die tomorrow to have seen what they've seen, and done what they've done.

I've no deathwish, but if they told me I had a seat on the next launch, it wouldn't matter if I didn't have a nickle to my name; I'd be on I-40E with my thumb stuck out.

This is the ending of heroes, and pioneers.

Let's not be melodramatic...there are other things afoot.

President Bush says that this will not be the end of our quest. There's no reason not to believe him.

 

[Thumper]

jmbg29,

Well said, brother.

 

[Calamity Jane]

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

=-=-=

God bless the souls and the families of the seven heroes humanity lost today.

 

[Ron L]

Basically, words almost escape me. It's hard to explain to my kids why this kind of "science" is necessary. Easiest way to explain it is that perhaps something they discover may one day be used to save their life. It may be used for other important or noble purposes. But we would never know if people like these weren't willing to sacrifice for the sake of mankind.

I was mildly yet pleasantly surprised when Milt, one of the guys from NASA, said during the press conference something to the order that it shouldn't take a tragedy like this to bring the country together. This is verbatim, I was talking with my wife and only caught part of it. If anybody else heard it, I'd be curious to know what the context was.


"....and the Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the souls we mourn today..."
George Bush

 

[TexasVet]

It took me a while to be able to get online today. We live just out from under the debris track and people in towns just north of us and to the east of us are finding pieces all over the place. Including in their homes, through the roofs. The local stations are showing hearses at sites where human remains have been found.
We in Deep East Texas are mostly in a state of shock. Two crew members were Texans. Everywhere we look there are National Guardsmen, police, state troopers, etc. guarding little areas with yellow tape around them. With little pieces of metal, heat shielding or people in them.
There are a lot of tears being shed around here. But NO ONE is suggesting that the space program should be scrapped. We'll be back up there as soon as possible and we will stay up there.

 

[Blackhawk]

Extreme sadness.

On the earth, in a pleasant climate, absent the extremes of weather and calamity, is safe for us. Everyplace else is fraught with extreme hazards.

Praise be to the intrepid who reach out beyond safe to benefit us all.

 

[Marshall]

May God have mercy on their souls and comfort and care for all 7 crew members families.

 

[chaim]

Ilon Ramon: Father of four, mother and grandmother survived Auschwitz, father and grandfather fought in Israeli War of Independence. Colonel in Israeli Air Force who fought in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and in the Lebanon War, he was one of the pilots who took out Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1982 allowing the US to oppose Iraq's invasion of Kuwait without having to deal with Sadaam having nuclear weapons.

William C. McCool: (Willie McCool- can you think of a better name for a Navy test pilot). He was a Commander in the US Navy and a navy test pilot, he was married but I don't know anything about whether he was a father or not. He was second in his graduating class at Annapolis (US Naval Academy).

Michael Anderson: US Air Force Lt. Col. I think it was his second trip on a shuttle and he spent time onboard Mir. He was married but I don't know about children.

Laurel Blair Clark: Commander in the US Navy and an MD (she was a doctor with the Navy's dive program). She was married and the mother of one child.

David Brown: He was a Captain in the US Navy. He joined the navy after finishing his medical residency. He was both a fighter pilot and a flight surgeon. He worked as an acrobat at a circus while in college.

Kalpana Chawla: She was a civilian employee of NASA. This was her second space flight. She immigrated from India in the 1980's.

Rick Douglas Husband: He was a Colonel in the US Air Force and the commander of this flight. It was his second space flight. He was married and had two children.

 

[chaim]

I find this article from the Jan 29th Jerusalem Post particularly ironic and sad. For background the Shema is a prayer that all religious Jews say two times everyday but Ramon wasn't religious so he probably said it for symbolic reasons. Well, it was more so than he could have known- it is also a prayer we are to say just before our death. The rest of the article needs no explaination...

I can't even look at this article without tears filling my eyes:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1043810401359

Jan. 29, 2003
Ramon says 'Shema' over Jerusalem
By GREER FAY CASHMAN AND PHILIP CHIEN


Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, now on his 14th day on board space shuttle Columbia, sent a letter from space to President Moshe Katsav about his experiences and his love for his homeland.

The letter, written on January 26, describes the training period and his joy at finally lifting off, as well as his feelings as he flew over Israel. "This wasn't the first time," wrote Ramon, "but this time was the best of all."

He saw Jerusalem clearly, and while gazing at the capital he recited the words of the Shema: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One."

Ramon repeated his sentiments that Israel has the best people in the world with the most phenomenal capabilities. "All that's needed is the right leadership to bring the people of Israel to the heights of heaven," he wrote.

The crew on board space shuttle Columbia on Tuesday marked the 17th anniversary of the Challenger accident where seven astronauts were killed due to the decision to ignore recommendations by engineers and launch the space shuttle in freezing conditions.

The astronauts followed the NASA tradition of having 73 seconds of silence at 10:38 am. The time marks the launch of the Challenger on January 28, 1986, and the length of its flight before it exploded. The time is also used to honor the memories of three astronauts killed in a fire on board Apollo 1 as it sat on the launch pad on January 27, 1967.

"We've got an announcement we'd like to make," said Columbia's commander, Rick Husband. "It is today that we remember and honor the crews of Apollo 1 and the Challenger. They made the ultimate sacrifice giving their lives in service to their country and for all mankind."
"Our thoughts and prayers go to their families as well," he said.

At the time of the Challenger accident Ilan Ramon was a student at the University of Tel Aviv. None of the other shuttle crew were with NASA at the time of the accident.

The crews round-the-clock laboratory research mission, featuring more than 80 experiments, is due to end with a landing back at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday.

However, NASA said Wednesday that the landing may be delayed due to weather forecasts predicting cloudy conditions for Saturday.

 

[bad_dad_brad]

This breakdown of the shuttle occurred during a time of maximum heat and dynamic stress as the shuttle S turned to slow down. I suspect there was a structural failure of some kind. There is much adieu about a piece of foam insulation from the booster tank that fell on the left wing, which is the major structure that failed, but there have been many incidents of this kind.

I think eventually they will find that the failure was caused by metal fatigue. The sensors that went offline first, were the ones on the trailing edge of the wing, a place of maximum heat. No doubt some kind of small failure that cascaded into a chaotic failure.

Space travel is a dangerous business.

NASA needs a new orbital vehicle, and it is beyond me why they do not have a strategy that makes sense in this direction. The X-33 and X-37 are not that solution, nor is the so called Orient express.

Un-manned heavy boosters lifting large payloads is no more, probably less expensive than the shuttle.

Manned throw away space capsules still make a lot of sense to send men and women up and down.

Mass-production would make both of these venues cheap.

Remember it costs 1 Billion dollars to launch every shuttle.

 

[Greg L]

Remember it costs 1 Billion dollars to launch every shuttle.

To launch or to build? I always heard the figure for building one. Launches I would expect to be somewhere in the millions (a million here, a million there and eventually you are talking real money , yes, yes, I know, for the .gov a million is nothing.)

Greg

 

[JackM]

At the time of the Challenger disaster, Jerry Pournelle said, IIRC, that NASA estimated that they'd lose one of every 25 crews in the early days. Seems I remember that the Shuttle was supposed to have titanium heat shielding instead of tiles, but a congressional cutback forced NASA to use tiles.

Rest in Peace, Astronaunts
Jack

 

[bad_dad_brad]

1 billion to launch. I saw a show on it the other day. When I say launch, I am talking about the entire process, not just lighting the candle. Refurbish the solids, overhaul the orbiter, new tank, extensive mission crew training, etc.

The shuttle is a boondoggle in many ways. And I have always thought, an inherently dangerous aircraft. It is all aluminum inside and relies on the insulating tiles, which are glued on, soft, almost 100% silica (sand) to keep the aluminum structure intact. Aluminum and heat are a deadly combination. Keep in mind, the internal structure and skin of the SR71 was titanium.

I was looking at my shuttle pilot manual and at 16 minutes before touchdown, exactly when Columbia disentegrated, S turn maneuvers are initiated. Just minutes before at maxium heat they started to lose sensors. Something on the left wing broke down, at maximum reentry heat and dynamics, then they made a S turn to the right, which would have put more pressure on the left wing and it's elevons and snap, at Mach 18 (12,500 MPH) you are toast.

They keep launching these things, they will keep losing them. 5 aircraft, a little over 100 flights, 2 destroyed, 14 people killed.

Contrary to what other THR's have said, I wouldn't step foot on the thing.

 

[answerguy]

Did anyone see the amateur footage...

... that showed the shuttle very clearly when he zoomed in on it?
He must of had a heck of a tele-photo lens. Unfortunatley he pulled back just as the shuttle failed.

 

[PATH]

So long and rest easy. We shall all be along presently.

Their deaths were not in vain. They died in service to their fellow man. They died advancing our knowledge as a species. They died doing their jobs.

Thank you and so long. We shall all be along presently.

 

[VaughnT]

It would figure that the day I get my computer back online, something like this happens. It just goes to show that you should appreciate every waking moment because you just don't know when it will end.

There is no chance that this is a terrorist attack (use logic to consider it, people), and I would chastise any Americans who would think to foster such tripe. Let us spend our time, our words, to instead bolster the heroic image of these brave souls who gave their lives for the advancement of our people.

My condolences go out to the families of these brave men and women. There's was an untimely but noble demise...and that is what we should remember.

 

[Politically Incorrect]

I definitely would go if given a chance. It took me twenty-three years to fly (on an ambulance helicopter no less). And three years after that I flew on my first airplane. In fact, I flew on seven airplanes in a week's time. Hawaii is beautiful!!!

Space holds such a mystery. To leave the safety of our own atmosphere and see the world from a distance has to be amazing. These men and women have risked their lives to further our knowledge in science.

I was nervous when that jet took off down the runway at the Dayton International Airport towards Chicago. In the back of my mind, I thought that there is always a chance that this is my last plane ride. I still couldn't keep looking out of the window thinking that nearly a hundred years ago, they just discovered heavier than air flying. The Cessna was another creature altogether.

It's no wonder why people take such risks.

jmbg29 said it right:

There are many people in this world that long for regression, for a diminishing of human capacity.

Shame on them. Too bad many have positions at the UN and even our own government.

 

[matis]

jmbg29

That was pure poetry!

My hat is off to you.

Matis

 

[Airwolf]

One of the fundamental problems with the Shuttle (other than being 70's technology) is that it, like so many things is a compromise.

If you go back and look at the evolution of the spacecraft NASA wanted something much smaller and austere. In order to get funding they ended up caving into DOD requirements for a much larger payload capacity. The DOD requirements are what drove the size of the payload bay and therefore the entire vehicle.

It kept getting bigger and bigger and trying to cover more and more tasks beyond a simple "taxi" to orbit.

After Challenger the DOD couldn't get out of the program fast enough and go back to one-time rockets. Leaving NASA with a huge spacecraft and infrastructure that quickly devoured its resources.

The problem in all this is that in order to proceed in space the country needs to make a commitment. A commitment that will take years (actually decades) to see come to fruition.

Fat chance in today’s world. The politicians that control the purse strings don’t give a damn about what happens past the next election. Corporations and stockholders don’t’ give a damn what happens beyond the next quarterly report .

There is no more Soviet Union to provide a challenge to the West.

People who love freedom and see the values in expanding the frontiers of knowledge and the species know that the space program is a vital part of what makes us Human.

Bean counters, investment brokers, CEO’s and politicians ask the same question: When will I get my investment back?

Such pitiful and petty minded people will be the death knell for this civilization and this species.

I’m sorry if this offends anyone. I am rather intoxicated right now. I’ve seen too much of this. A child of the Sixties (born 1957) I grew up with a complete and total fascination for the Space Program. My parents used to pull me out of school to watch launches on TV. I became a civilian pilot because of it (eyes too bad to join NASA or the Military).

I keep imagining the last few minutes of the flight and what was going through their minds. Pilots out there will understand that.

My deepest condolences to the family and friends of the crew. May their commitment to expanding the boundaries of what it means to be Human never be forgotten or diminished by those that would trivialize their courage and commitment.

 

[gburner]

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven...

words cannot possibly express our sorrow
for the loss of these fine people and their intrepid craft. Godspeed