baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) (11/30/89)
The crew of the STS-34 Space Shuttle Mission was honored today at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The major objective of the STS-34 flight was the deployment of the spacecraft Galileo which was accomplished last October 18th. The ceremony occurred at noon in the JPL mall area. Dr. Lew Allen, the director of JPL, presented each of the astronauts with a personalized plaque commemorating the Galileo deployment. Don Williams, the commander of STS-34 and mission specialists Ellen Baker were then introduced and each gave a speech in front of the JPL personel. Time was then set aside for the JPL employees to chat with the astronauts and to get their autographs. Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov Jet Propulsion Lab M/S 301-355 | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov 4800 Oak Grove Dr. | Pasadena, CA 91109 |
fleming@cup.portal.com (Stephen R Fleming) (12/01/89)
>Time was then set aside for the >JPL employees to chat with the astronauts and to get their autographs. ...Just think about this sentence for a second... I'm not a basher of the individual astronauts; I'd love to be one. But the thought of people at JPL, the *real* space-science heroes of the last couple of decades, clustering around a bunch of Right-Stuffers like teenage groupies... I dunno. Maybe I'm getting cranky in my old age. Let it pass. +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Stephen Fleming | My employer doesn't pay for this account. | | fleming@cup.portal.com | In fact, my employer doesn't even know | | CI$: 76354,3176 | I'm here! Disclaimer enough for any | | Voice: (703) 847-7058 | network-aware lawyer-types, I hope... | +--------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall) (12/02/89)
In article <24627@cup.portal.com> fleming@cup.portal.com (Stephen R Fleming) writes:
: >Time was then set aside for the
: >JPL employees to chat with the astronauts and to get their autographs.
:
: ...Just think about this sentence for a second...
:
: I'm not a basher of the individual astronauts; I'd love to be one.
: But the thought of people at JPL, the *real* space-science heroes
: of the last couple of decades, clustering around a bunch of
: Right-Stuffers like teenage groupies...
Don't assume:
1) that just because someone set aside time for autographs, that's
what the time was used for by those who attended.
2) that everyone at JPL is a "space science hero".
3) that everyone attended (I didn't, as it happens).
I'm not saying you were assuming any of 1-3. Just don't. :-)
: I dunno. Maybe I'm getting cranky in my old age. Let it pass.
OK. It's past.
Larry Wall
lwall@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.govhenry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (12/02/89)
In article <24627@cup.portal.com> fleming@cup.portal.com (Stephen R Fleming) writes: >>Time was then set aside for the >>JPL employees to chat with the astronauts and to get their autographs. >... the thought of people at JPL, the *real* space-science heroes >of the last couple of decades, clustering around a bunch of >Right-Stuffers like teenage groupies... As has been pointed out several times of late: space is more than just space science. It's not their dedication to space science that makes them cluster around astronauts enthusiastically. -- Mars can wait: we've barely | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology started exploring the Moon. | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
CMH117@PSUVM.BITNET (Charles Hannum) (12/03/89)
In article <24627@cup.portal.com>, fleming@cup.portal.com (Stephen R Fleming) says: > >>Time was then set aside for the >>JPL employees to chat with the astronauts and to get their autographs. > >...Just think about this sentence for a second... > >I'm not a basher of the individual astronauts; I'd love to be one. >But the thought of people at JPL, the *real* space-science heroes >of the last couple of decades, clustering around a bunch of >Right-Stuffers like teenage groupies... > >I dunno. Maybe I'm getting cranky in my old age. Let it pass. If you'd been waiting (how many?) years to get your baby out into space, you'd think the astronauts were God, too. -- - Charles Martin Hannum II "Klein bottle for sale ... inquire within." (That's Charles to you!) "To life immortal!" cmh117@psuvm.{bitnet,psu.edu} "No noozzzz izzz netzzzsnoozzzzz..." c9h@psuecl.{bitnet,psu.edu} "Mem'ry, all alone in the moonlight ..."
davidle@microsoft.UUCP (David Levine) (12/08/89)
In article <89336.171216CMH117@PSUVM.BITNET> CMH117@PSUVM.BITNET (Charles Hannum) writes: >In article <24627@cup.portal.com>, fleming@cup.portal.com (Stephen R Fleming) >says: >> >>>Time was then set aside for the >>>JPL employees to chat with the astronauts and to get their autographs. >> >>...Just think about this sentence for a second... >> >>I'm not a basher of the individual astronauts; I'd love to be one. >>But the thought of people at JPL, the *real* space-science heroes >>of the last couple of decades, clustering around a bunch of >>Right-Stuffers like teenage groupies... >> >>I dunno. Maybe I'm getting cranky in my old age. Let it pass. > >If you'd been waiting (how many?) years to get your baby out into space, >you'd think the astronauts were God, too. In addition, perhaps those of us who worked on Galileo for nearly ten years would like to thank the astronauts who risked their lives to deploy it. Even if Mr. Domehead Nearsighted Paleskinned Space Science Hero (I don't remember seeing anyone at JPL meeting this stereotype) dosn't hold much with autographs, perhaps his/her kids might. Many JPL'rs follow the shuttle program quite closely, collect mission patches and would'nt mind a short word with one of the astronauts even if it was not the thrill of a lifetime. Sorry for adding to the comments on this, I just think the original posting was rather silly. David Levine ===================================================== === The opinions expressed above are entirely mine == === The facts expressed above are probably wrong == =====================================================
lfa@timbuk.cray.com (Lou Adornato) (12/09/89)
In article <24627@cup.portal.com> fleming@cup.portal.com (Stephen R Fleming) writes: >>Time was then set aside for the >>JPL employees to chat with the astronauts and to get their autographs. > >...Just think about this sentence for a second... > >I'm not a basher of the individual astronauts; I'd love to be one. >But the thought of people at JPL, the *real* space-science heroes >of the last couple of decades, clustering around a bunch of >Right-Stuffers like teenage groupies... > How do you define hero? I consider a hero to be someone who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for something he/she sees as bigger than him/herself. Doing your job well isn't grounds for hero worship, it's grounds for a pay raise. The folks at JPL do a fantastic job, and are entitled to respect and admiration (and _really_ nice pay raises), but their pesonal risk is limited to VDT syndrome, or keyboard wrist. Have we become so mired in the workaday world that we truly feel that exceeding your job description and risking your life are the same thing? My father was one of the more than 300,000 people to work on the Apollo program; he helped design and build the mobile launch pads for Apollo (and now the shuttle). I'm proud as hell of that, but I don't consider him a hero for it. I remember when the Apollo 1 fire happened. It was like we had lost three family members. Same for every family I knew. I remember my father, an incredibly stoic man, fighting back the tears as the story unfolded of the deaths of these three "Right-Stuffers" that he had never met. Wait a minute...What the hell am I talking about? This isn't an us/them issue. The point is that the crew and the JPL staff are on the same side, and if the JPL staff wants to idolize the people who actually go where JPL can only observe, then I'm glad they got the chance. I'm pretty sure that there was no display of weapons involved; no one was forced to get an autograph under threat of reprisals. I hope some of the crew asked for autographs from the JPL folks. Maybe someone got a Voyager or Gallileo signature. Lou Adornato | Statements herein do not represent the opinions or attitudes Cray Research | of Cray Research, Inc. or its subsidiaries. lfa@cray.com | (...yet)