Not sure if this is the right folder, but for those not watching the news. It seems the space shuttle Columbia has broken up, just a horrible thing to be happening right now.

>>It reminds me of when Challenger exploded.

Especially considering this week was the anniversary.

:( I hadn't had my TV on all day and popped on the boards to see if there had been any GM announcements. This wasn't the sort of announcement I was looking for, though. :(


a very sad Annee

The news just played Husband's commemoration to the Apollo and the Challenger from earlier this week. Seems odd that it's now become his eulogy.

I can still remember where I was sitting in the classroom in highschool when it was announced that Challenger had blown up. At that time the Columbia was the newest of the space shuttle family. I'm still waiting for it to sink in....

>Already a few internet pundits are claiming we should scrap the agency.

And that would be a great insult to the memory of Columbia's crew, not to mention Challenger and Apollo 1.


Qreyq

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Come to the Pack House!
http://www.rakashpack.8m.com

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It was a scientific mission. They were doing a variety of different experiments. Here is a link with more information:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/16jan_sts107.htm

One of the reasons the people on the ground were so excited to be welcoming the shuttle back was because of all the data they had gathered. This is a link to information on one of the experiments they were conducting:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/31jan_kelley.htm

~Nechtan's player, who thinks the whole ordeal is just awful.

You know, I was talking to my dad about this yesterday and he asked me what we get out of the space program that makes it worth the risk and the cost. It's a good question, isn't it? The thing is that for the man on the street, it's not immediatly obvious what the space program has done for us. We're still in the infancy of exploration now, and the really tangible results are only beginning to come. I think that NASA needs to spend a bit more time on PR to make sure people understand what comes out of the space program. This was a tragedy, but I think a lot of people would quiet down about shutting the program down if they understood a bit more about it.


______No matter what it is, there is nothing that cannot be done. If one manifests the determination, he can move heaven and earth as he pleases. Moving heaven and earth without putting forth effort is merely a matter of concentration.

There are HUGE scientific discoveries that have come from the space program. Termpur-pedic matresses and pillows come to mind, but that's only because I really want one!


Espritia

The planet's life span isn't really in question....it will likely continue to exist for another couple billion years before it becomes a completely lifeless ball of rock. Humanity's life span, however, is, in my opinion, drastically shorter, and growing even more so by the day. Most things evolve to suit their environment. Humans evolve their environment foricbly to suit them. With the rate of humanity's expansion, overpopulation is going to be a major problem, if it isn't already (is it? I dunno). The space program is the best way to possibly halt something like the complete erradication of life on earth several billion years before it's time. The people that brave the very high likelyhood of death in order to explore that vast open space of almost nothing, so that we can understand it better and perhaps learn more about how we can not make ourselves go extinct are among the greatest of heroes. Most of the time nowadays you barely even hear about them. "Oh boy, another space ship came back. Yay." Like someone said, most people don't believe they see the immediate results of space exploration. Then again, most people have trouble thinking in the long (long long long long) term. Sure, people will survive for the next decade....how bout century? Millenia? Will humanity be alive in a million years? 10 million? Most species don't last all too long. Will humanity only exist for a mere 20,000 years? Hopefully not. Hopefully, those brave men and women of NASA will find some way that humanity can spread out, extend our reach beyond the moon, out into the stars. Hopefully by that point we will have figured out that until then we all have to be stuck on this rock of a planet together, and not have blown each other to bits by then....I truly envy those people who get to go into space. They have truly gone where no man has gone before. There isn't too much left on earth that is 'undiscovered'. Beyond the atmosphere is one of the biggest adventures yet to be experienced. And those very few individuals have gone there. They really are quite lucky. May they rest in honor, and in peace.

Drakkenn Rarenth, Toggish Minister

>>The planet's life span isn't really in question....it will likely continue to exist for another couple billion years before it becomes a completely lifeless ball of rock.<<

Correct. But for those keeping track at home, let's better define the doomsday scenario.

We are not really worried about Earth being destroyed. Earth as the planet probably is going no where untill the Sun helium flashes, enlarges, and consumes it.

There is serious question as to how long, at our current rate, Earth will remain habitable and useful for Human existance. Sustainability is the clarion call of more rational environmentalists, and we're quite a ways from achieveing it. Both due to resource consumption (which becomes way to convolted and riddled with social-economic issues for my liking), and population growth (third world nations giving us a nice little J curve that is undoubtly going to cause dieback sooner or later).

>>With the rate of humanity's expansion, overpopulation is going to be a major problem, if it isn't already (is it? I dunno).<<

An isolated problem, at the moment, but one that will continue to grow. Generally, we can expect humanity to act like every other animal in the face of the population shooting over the carrying capacity of their habitat: Dieback proportionate to how far above the capacity they rose.

The solar system is there for us to take. It is room to expand and it is resources to consume. It is a long step; not one that can be taken by a sole explorer trying to find the back door to India, or a merchant with a panache for silk. But it is a step that, once taken, will benefit us immesurably.

>>I just hope that the Columbia incident does not deactivate the space program for an extended duration like the Challenger incident did.<<

This is something of a problem.

The US was running itself a bit ragged keeping up various commitments up there (ISS, the telescope fleet, etc) with only four shuttles. Now we're looking at not only trying to cram that work load into a three shuttle rotation, but we also have the prerequisite grounding until everyone works out what happened and how to fix it.

Something is probably going to have to give. My bet is on the ISS.

Larcus' Player

>>Better yet, let's build 5 more shuttles, triple the number of astronauts & take our space program seriously. & start commercializing it, to help the private sector start paying for it.<<

Not quite that simple. The figures I've heard (note, this is 'off the street' as it were, and unoffical) is nine months to get a shuttle out of mothballs, two years to have the shuttle fleet expanded.

This is, of course, in addition to the time it'll take NASA to decide if they want to keep with the shuttles or invest in the next-generation vehicle.

Larcus' Player

the all mighty invention of velcrow (sp?) came about from the nasa program. Also better designs for submarines and underwater travel including scuba gear.

Nasa has been the beinging a a number of inventions of everyday life. It is also the reason we have such a better understanding of the earth, seasons, weather, and many sciences (such as gravity and the atomic theory). Scraping the Nasa program would be the most ignorant thing we as a race could do.

The people that feel this way are extremely ignorant and have no grasp on what it means to be human. Its our nature to try and better our selves and evolve into a higher race. Space travel is the next big step for the human race.

I am going to school to become a pilot. One Day I hope to maybe work for Nasa and would be willing to risk myself for the greater good. As an indivudual what could be better then doing something for your entire race? No one lives forever. (although I plan to) We should try to do the most in the little time we have.

Falk

I went to space camp once, got to do most of their training routines. I lasted longer than anyone else on that spinning thing with the three rings(I alwasy forget what they're called). They took me off because I was holding up the schedule. I'm rather proud of that.


Steel.

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A good friend is the one that bails you out of jail. A best friend is the one sitting next to you saying, "Damn that was cool, let's do that again!"

>> How's that more important than 100 people and a private companies plane, which happens just about every year? Just kinda odd.

Not odd at all. There is a huge difference. Every death is important, but not every death is a direct result of serving one's country or humankind. The greater the risk, the greater the honor paid to those who have died. Space exploration carries with it extreme risk. If every time you flew you had a one in a hundred chance of dying would you still fly? How many people have gone into space, and how many have returned alive?

Extreme skiing and snowboarding is also very dangerous. When I hear of fatalities I feel sorry for the families left behind but I also think it is a crazy thing to do, to risk one's life for thrills. When I hear of a plane crash I mourn the loss of life, but these people were not deliberately taking a major risk and they are not doing humankind a service.

Astronauts deserve to be honored in life and certainly in death.

Dellica