The Space Shuttle is DOWN.

VNgo · 02-01-03, 12:05 PM

The space shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry and crashed in Texas this morning. This is not a joke.

NMkiD · 02-01-03, 12:42 PM

Its a terrible tradegy.

MSNBC

Racer X · 02-01-03, 06:42 PM

My 3 yo son loves astronauts. His favorite toys are the Rescue Heroes action figures. Today is a tough day when as a parent you have explain why so many pictures of astronauts are on TV. We talked about heroes instead and how some people do very brave things to help others. He said he understood and went to take a nap.

I pray for the families of our lost heroes.

paulg1957 · 02-01-03, 08:28 PM

This is a sad day. We all look to the stars and imagine being beyond the grasp of this planet.

Let's pause for a moment in prayer, or silence and remember those who died and their families who must be in complete shock.

Paul

ericartman · 02-02-03, 07:44 PM

What a sad day for us all. When I first saw the news on Yahoo I wouldn't even click through for about 5 minutes. Watching it on TV was even harder. Sometimes when you push the envelope the envelope pushes back. Can't quit now though, I'd be first in line for the next one if they would let me. Good thoughts and prayers to the families. :(

02-02-03, 08:14 PM

It is still unreal. God bless the families of the astronauts and may their courage and sense of adventure be remembered always.

02-02-03, 08:44 PM

My wife asked me today, "Why do we go to space? What good have we gotten from it?"

It would be hard for me to assemble a decent list of the things we've learned from the exploration of space, so I answered this way.

I said, we get the same thing from the exploration of space as we did from the early explorers who found America. If we don't look for it, we will never find it.

Thanks, to the explorers who have the guts to keep looking.

Briank · 02-02-03, 08:58 PM

The shuttle is such a complicated piece of equipment, it amazes me how it has been able to do the things that is does. It is a testament to what man can do.

Kierne · 02-03-03, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rickford@Feb 2 2003, 07:44 PM
My wife asked me today, "Why do we go to space? What good have we gotten from it?"

It would be hard for me to assemble a decent list of the things we've learned from the exploration of space, so I answered this way.

Velcro and teflon were both invented for the space program. That's a good start for your list.

rickh57 · 02-03-03, 10:17 AM

Even our wonderful Axims (and all other current computer technologies) are spin offs of the space program!

Rick

Talador · 02-03-03, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kierne@Feb 3 2003, 08:19 AM
Velcro and teflon were both invented for the space program. That's a good start for your list.

Yes, but with the good comes the bad. The Astronauts in Apollo 1 died on the launchpad because of the velco. The fire spread because of the 100% O2 enviorment, and the flammable nature of Velco (which they had WAY to much in the craft). But with concern to this tragedy, we are lucky its been 16 years since anything has gone wrong. The space shuttle fleet is 20 years old (in this particular case). The technology relys on CRC (carbon-reinfocred carbon) tiles which are designed to fall of to keep them from burning up in the atmosphere, toxic propellants, and there are a million things that can go wrong.
This is not a perfect science. Shuttle launches used to be on every major news station in the 80's. Since the years following the Challanger explosion though, Shuttle launches and landings have become so common place that people have forgotten how dangerous it is, and you'll be lucky to see it on CNN. Strapping yourself to Rockets that can't be turned off, or for that matter, a huge Hydrogen bomb in the case of the huge orange fuel tank is not for the faint of heart. Astronauts know the risk, train for the impossible, and never look back on fear. They put their lives in danger for the greater good of the world. My 2 cents...

--Talador
Your resident space freak and AE buff....

ThinkerTDM · 02-03-03, 12:45 PM

Quote:

My wife asked me today, "Why do we go to space? What good have we gotten from it?"

Just look around. Aside from the neat technological advances, look at the world. The population is exploding. Pollution is terrible. Resources are being used up faster and faster. While it doesn't seem like it now, think of (or imagine) what it was like 50 years ago, then look at the way things are today. Now try to imagine what it would be like in 50 years.
People may scoff at things like polution- in DC, they rate the air quality, and when its bad, its a "Code Red" day. (And bus rides are free!!) They actually warn people (esp the elderly and immune compromised) to stay indoors!! Thats crazy! I grew up in a small town where pollution was unheard of.
The other day, a guy was telling me about how, when he grew up, Silver Spring was wooded. Now its full of people...
Does this make any sense?

LeapinLew · 02-03-03, 04:23 PM

Quote:

QUOTE  
My wife asked me today, "Why do we go to space? What good have we gotten from it?"

Just look around. Aside from the neat technological advances, look at the world. The population is exploding. Pollution is terrible. Resources are being used up faster and faster. While it doesn't seem like it now, think of (or imagine) what it was like 50 years ago, then look at the way things are today. Now try to imagine what it would be like in 50 years.
People may scoff at things like polution- in DC, they rate the air quality, and when its bad, its a "Code Red" day. (And bus rides are free!!) They actually warn people (esp the elderly and immune compromised) to stay indoors!! Thats crazy! I grew up in a small town where pollution was unheard of.
The other day, a guy was telling me about how, when he grew up, Silver Spring was wooded. Now its full of people...
Does this make any sense?

That pretty much sums up the train of though from both sides. 1 side says monies should be spent on taking care of the people on earth and the other side says space exploration should continue.

I can't believe living in America anyone could even suggest a non exploration solution. We are here in America because of explorers. Pollution is a problem, but I do not see how that relates to the space program. Cars, burning coal, and most other pollutions were around in the early 1900's. A good possible solution could come from the space program and the spinoff technologies it creates.

Now that makes sense.

JakeRich · 02-03-03, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ThinkerTDM@Feb 3 2003, 11:45 AM

Quote:

My wife asked me today, "Why do we go to space? What good have we gotten from it?"

Just look around. Aside from the neat technological advances, look at the world. The population is exploding. Pollution is terrible. Resources are being used up faster and faster. While it doesn't seem like it now, think of (or imagine) what it was like 50 years ago, then look at the way things are today. Now try to imagine what it would be like in 50 years.
People may scoff at things like polution- in DC, they rate the air quality, and when its bad, its a "Code Red" day. (And bus rides are free!!) They actually warn people (esp the elderly and immune compromised) to stay indoors!! Thats crazy! I grew up in a small town where pollution was unheard of.
The other day, a guy was telling me about how, when he grew up, Silver Spring was wooded. Now its full of people...
Does this make any sense?

I do look around. Things are considerably better than 50 years ago. Cars now have lower emissions running at 60 MPH than they did 50 years ago sitting in the driveway not running at all! Air quality is improving. We don't have the "killer fog" like London did over 100 years ago because we have cleaner burning furnaces. And the fuel cell technology that the space program created is finally going to have some investment as a power supply for cars.

I live near DC. I grew up near here and in fact lived here 50 years ago, and I know all about the Code Red days. We have fewer now than we used to. And part of it is because computer technology got smaller and smaller (space program needed smaller computers because they couldn't lift the weight) so we could put computers in cars, electric motors got more and more efficient and clean (space program needed smaller, more powerful motors that didn't emit as much ozone). Sure, Silver Spring was wooded, so was western Fairfax County, but people are drawn to this area because of the low unemployment it has enjoyed for a very long time, the quality of life in the general area and the attraction of living in the Capitol of the U.S. So some trees get cut, houses put in. That's the down side of progress. But, we now have more national parks and protected forests than we did 50 years ago, and I read a statistic that we now have more trees in the US than were here when Jamestown was settled in 1607.

Yep, I look around and it's looking pretty good.

eltaka · 02-03-03, 05:35 PM

Just throwing in my .02 cents. We have had the technology to put in place vehicles that are electrical or hybrids or whatever. We don't go forward with this because we like our big vehicles (SUV, Trucks, etc.) I have seen more coverage of "new vehicles" here lately. Yeah emission has gotten better our vehicles, but I think we shouldn't have ANY at all.

Let's hear it for the Land Speeders!