Guest Joseph Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 To Whom It May Concern: Today we will once again risk the lives of good people in the hopes of reaching beyond the Earth and going into space. I want to express how much I believe this to be of the greatest endeavors mankind can undertake. One which separates us from all other life forms and one which can change the face of human history. But I want to put a huge asteric by that statement inthat I do not believe the methods we are currently using are the way to go. We will yet again be taking the enormous leap of faith in trusting the shuttle to last through another trip into space. With even the best upgrades it is still nothing more than a flying brick. It is the model T of space flight and we have been stuck here for way too long. It is time to generate within NASA a new idea about how to address orbital technology and how to reduce risks. It is time for a change and I am not certain what it will take to bring about this dramatic alteration but I hope and I pray that it is not the loss of more life. It seems that we have developed a system inwhich we run on gravestone mentality...we wait for them to be killed before we change the system just enough to calm the beaurocracy. Unless mankind learns from the past we will continue to repeat it...and today is no more than proving this very clearly. We have not learned that the systems we are currently using to attain orbital velocity are not trustworthy and are extremely experimental even today. We have not generated a system willing to change with the times and to produce NEW ships cost effectively therefore we have doomed ourselves to repeatedly use outdated transport vessels at our own peril. And I do not say this as a nay-sayer I say this as a person who firmly believes that mankind's only hope of a real impact on the universe is beyond Earth's orbit and truly to have any lasting impact upon this realm we must ensure that our fate is not tied to a single solar system. But HOW we do this is as important as DOING it. We yet again take an enormous risk to forward mankind at the detriment of setting mankind's space hopes back hundreds of years. We are not looking at this from the current standpoint of a political and social nightmare that it could be. In less than an hour we could take a chance upon a single shuttle flight that could poison mankind's reach for the stars. If the shuttle were to fail then the social support for this program would be all but destroyed and thus mankind's dream of reaching beyond our world would collaspe for a time. It is not worth such great a risk for one flight of an outdated space vehicle and I have yet to read someone say this in this manner. Today we do not risk only the lives of a few brave Americans, if we fail this time we risk NASA's integrity and ability to function...we are putting too much on the line in this experimental flight. I love the idea of forwarding mankind and pushing the envelope of our understanding but for once in the history of man we have the ability to use our knowledge to develope means by which we do not have to risk human life in order to explore. We have the means and the technology to learn of other places and other worlds without humans dying in the process. Especially on vehicles as dated as the current launch system. It is time for new prototypes to be built and tested with escape capsules at their roots/guts. It is time to devise a reusable platform that can attain the weight ratios we need and the re-entry attitude that the basic pilot desires...not the brick. Until mankind understands that reaching for the stars is one of our most important journies ever and until we learn to balance risk with reward, we will be doomed to repeat history. I just hope that today we do not repeat it once again and that we have a safe launch and return, because in such a time as this is our futures tied to the single fate of a vehicle which should have been retired long ago. Sincerely, J. B. Alexander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 Dude, The people that are going up in the shuttle wouldn't do it at all if they weren't at least mostly sure that the shuttle would make the flight. Also, bravery/risk is sort of a prerequisite when it comes to being an astronaut. Nobody has a gun to their head making them go on the flight. Sheesh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 The people that are going up in the shuttle wouldn't do it at all if they weren't at least mostly sure that the shuttle would make the flight. Also, bravery/risk is sort of a prerequisite when it comes to being an astronaut. Yes, I believe they have to undergo psychological testing of some sort. Those people are well aware of the risks they are taking, it's not like they are blindly walking into it. NASA also plans to retire the old shuttles within this decade and work on developing space planes, using the X-Prize plane as a model, IIRC. They do not plan to use these space shuttles forever. It's not like they aren't working on upgrading the fleet and intend to use the shuttles until they all literally fall apart. There are people with PHDs working on this, not some schmucks from out in the hicks somewhere. It is not *that* enormous of a leap of faith, since they have succeeded in the past. At least, it's not blind faith like Christianity is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 Yes, I believe they have to undergo psychological testing of some sort. Those people are well aware of the risks they are taking, it's not like they are blindly walking into it. I guess I'd probably fail the psychological tests. Heck, I wouldn't care if the shuttle was running on four cylinders, if they asked me if I wanted to go on a flight into outer space, I'd jump into that shuttle in a heartbeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Libertus Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Ya know. I was really very surprised that they originally scheduled the launch for the 13th. I worked for the governemtn for 10 years, and I must say that the US government is just filled with supersticious BS. I was very surprised that they were going to try to launch on that day, honestly. Libertus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai Tailor Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 The folks I was staying with in Orlando recently (hurricane refugee) bought tickets for the initial scheduled launch. Unfortunately, it seems they do not give refunds or exchanges for scrubbed launches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Unfortunately, it seems they do not give refunds or exchanges for scrubbed launches. That's pissy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai Tailor Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 That's pissy! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Especially for the family my friends encountered on their way out - they were headed back to Oklahoma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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