Hey guys, I'm new here. I am becomming very angry with the finger pointing at NASA. If you feel like it's NASA's fault, why do you? I'm not going to critsize you, I just want to know your view on the issue.
As the days go on it is obvious that there was ample evidence that the shuttle was in some kind of trouble, even if and I don't believe that it was otherwise that there was space debris that contactedthe shuttle the day after it went into orbit. Maybe this was just gross overconfidence I'm not sure but they have the technology to inspect the shuttle both from the ground and from satellites. It appears neither was done. Other safety precautions should have been sought after. The shuttles should Always have the abilty to rendevou with the space station and to dock with it. The astronauts should have atleast some abilty to make repairs on the shuttle. There should be some sort of rescue vehicle ready to go incase of such mishaps. If something goes wrong on liftoff or it was struck by something in space and then that's it? Money was the reason why these things have not been established. If they could bring back apollo 13 with all the catastrophic failures it encountered with the technology of 1970 then certainly we sould be able to get these guys home with what the Columbia encountered.
I dont think Apollo 13 and the shuttle should be compared. A13 (as you probably know) was a Saturn V rocket, which is of course made up of several sections, and when the tank line shorted out, it blasted out the command modual, not the heat shield. NASA was almost positive dammage was done to A13's reentry capsil's heat shield (which was located inside the command modual), and did not really expect them to come home. In 1970 they were just as helpless. Luckily, of course, A13's heat shield escaped dammage in the blast. (just watched the movie yesterday :-)
The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home. -G.W. Bush
I was comparing the two because of the ingenuity of the people who worked the problem with the technology they had at that time. They had to work fast and make things up as they went along. During lift off there was a potential for a problem and the day after launch there was some sort of debris that was spotted floating away from the shuttle. Given the amount of time they had available I believe that there should have been SOME effort to check the shuttle and to see if SOMETHING could be done to bring back the crew. The current crop of NASA managers seem all to willing to throw in the towel. I dare to think what might have happened if the people we have today were given the problems of apollo 13. My guess is that the outcome wouldhave been different.
I believe we would have brought the men home just as well.
The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home. -G.W. Bush
02-28-2003 04:04 AM
