OT: Space Shuttle Tragedy

It's been posted in a couple of the other forums as well, but I think it applies here as well.

It's accurate to say that space travel has its inherent risks, and tragedies are inevitible, but everytime something like this happens, I feel it gives people an opportunity to think and rethink about what matters in this world.

One of great things about science is its ability to unite people across the world. Without going into some divergant rant, its suffice to say that if one thing benefits us all, brings us together and improves the quality of lives, its science. Without the brave and intelligent -- people like the crew of this flight, we wouldn't have such advances.

The ability of science to break barriers, bring forth new thoughts and ideas, and unite people is infinite. All the pety geo-political bickering and social infighting since the dawn of humanity hasn't done a thing to advance us as a people. Its truely people like this crew and the Von Brauns, the Galileos, and the Einsteins and countless nameless faces throughout history to which we owe a great deal.

Again, lets take a moment to remember the potential of science and technology to bring together a divided world and the people who take on the challenge to make that possible. I would feel this particularly strikes home in a forum of this nature. Its not to single out this tragedy in light of countless others that happen daily throughout the world, but rather to remember the price we pay for advancing ourselves and remember how our lives are made better by people like those seven brave men and women.

I appoligize to the mods for posting something off-topic, but I think the circumstances offer us a chance to think about the advances we've made, the boundless potential for advances yet to be made and the means to bring about greater unity.

Very well said. I just hope they do not die in vein. When challanger was destroyed it tooks almost 3 years to jumpstart the orbiter program back to life and in our nations currnet state with and all ready suffering space program i find it hard to believe that Americans will return to space for some time.

If only everyone could trust in science to create a better world and not fight over the problems science can solve but instead solve them.

This morning i couldnt believe the news i had awoken too it just shows what we pay for knowlege.

Its the congresses fault i tell ya! For over 20 years hey've kept NASA on a shoestring budget. You'd think if they DO trace this to faulty material they might reconsider.

I also have very negative views about how NASA is funded. I strongly believe that we should invest more money in such things. Not just NASA, JPL etc., but a great many things. The money we waste fighting unnecesary wars (not just the US, but nations around the globe) could easily be spent on space exploration, finding the cure for cancer, working towards clean energy and finding easily replenshiable food sources. In the end, every war we fight, for whatever cause will always end with deaths and the underlying problem more often then not isn't solved.

Take just the this crew: Men, Women, an African American, an Indian born, and an Israeli -- all humans and all united on a mission. To see how simple such harmony can be then turn on the news and see suicide bomber this, disarm that sickens me. In the end, the means to the solution is always more complex then the idea of the solution, but to seeing something like this where people live and die for a cause of unniversal advancement and then turn around and see killing in the name of some phantom cause, one which invariably will have retaliation is sickening.

Its clear as day how much potential we have. To offer a tie in with this forum -- just think about the inventors of the microprocessor:

Gordon Moore, Andy Grove, Robert Noyce, Ted Hoff, Federico Faggin, and Stan Mazor. Between them you had among other things, Americans, a Holocaust survivor and an Italian. Together they arguably made one of, if not the single most important advance in science and technology in the 20th century.

In that spirit, I applaud this crew and all such people who dedicate their lives to a universal cause.

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Originally posted by Soldier_Of_Evil
Its the congresses fault i tell ya! For over 20 years hey've kept NASA on a shoestring budget. You'd think if they DO trace this to faulty material they might reconsider.

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I don't think it would be faulty material, but think about it...the shuttle is 22 years old, look at a car made now vs. 20 years ago(only 12 years removed from our first walk on the moon). Heck in computer time the shuttle was full of electronics from the 8088 era! I think the idea of reusable space vehicles is a sound idea, but with all the advances in technology and manufacturing process you may want to start making new ones every 5 or 10 years.

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Originally posted by steppy76
I don't think it would be faulty material, but think about it...the shuttle is 22 years old, look at a car made now vs. 20 years ago(only 12 years removed from our first walk on the moon). Heck in computer time the shuttle was full of electronics from the 8088 era! I think the idea of reusable space vehicles is a sound idea, but with all the advances in technology and manufacturing process you may want to start making new ones every 5 or 10 years.

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...or at least make one that is update-friendly.

They upgraded the shuttle in 1999. This is the kind of thing you can't blame on any one body or person. Congress may have lowered funding (as an engineer I obviously want more funding for NASA) but that doesn't mean you use cheap materials that will put your astronauts in harm's way. The engineers at NASA aren't that stupid.

i would also like to extend my deepest respect to the astronauts...it takes a lot of guts to go up into space where just about anything can happen

it is a shame that science is limited by people bickering over politics, greed, and money...just imagine how advanced technologically we could be if we just let go of our differences and unite in the scientific cause....i personally would like to see major advances in deep space propulsion....i also believe that warp drive is not impossible...not that i think i know something but i have my own motto "the only limits are those that we set for ourselves". but anyway...it is a grievous loss but i hope that we can overcome it and keep the advancements coming.

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Originally posted by Soldier_Of_Evil
Its the congresses fault i tell ya! For over 20 years they've kept NASA on a shoestring budget.

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Amen brother, :D They need to retire those old birds and incorporate some new, safer propulsion systems, among other things. I mean, I realize they weren't exactly held together w/ duct tape, but after 20+ years you'd think that they should do more then just refit the fossils. Still, two mishaps in all that time could be worse. Not that it's acceptable of course, but they are sitting on some serious grade 'A' combustable materials. Not to mention the incredibly inhospitible environment they must operate in.

They cost so much they wanted them to last for a long time...they were made for 100+ flights apiece and it wasn't even close to that mark yet.

Also they expected 1 in 75 flights to blow up(or some very low number similar to this) due to unexpected circumstances and accidents.

The astronauts know and accept the risks involved...I don't think this should slow things down because these things just happen.

Besides the shuttle is used for military purposes too...you don't think all the work they do is really peacefull do you? They are often used to put up or repair military satillites and most astronauts have military backgrounds.

The whole space race was a cold war stuggle anyways...why do you think the chinese are so hot to get into the space race now? Because the technology is readily adaptable to War(some would say war technology was adapted for space but it works both ways)...and he who controls space controls the earth.

I for one would rather see the government increase spending for the space program, did you know that NASA actually buys electronic componenets off of EBAY because the Shuttles are so old thats there only market to get striped down parts from older pieces of equipment. True the shuttles are old and they do there job to a point but its time to look at other alternatives they have in building a new ship.

rip.

i hate to see the blame game going on in the media..
if they asked me today, i'd still fly into space... what a rush..

things happen, ya just need to learn and prevent for the next time..
i doubt that itll keep nasa down for long but i do think that itll jumpstart them into getting a newer concept in manned space flight into reality..

to move it onto a more of an on topic subject...

considering the technology of today and where it seems to be going, imagine what they could pack into systems and sub-systems..

There's a 2 and a half year moratorium whenever a manned shuttle doesn't make it back down. So there won't be any thing close to an immediate jumpstart.

we have infinate food resources, i'm not trying to say anything negative here, but the govt. has been genetically engineering food for the last several years, six i believe. food is not an issue in todays world, at least for this country its not.