JOHNSON@NORTHEASTERN.CSNET (Chris Johnson) (01/30/86)
I found out about the shuttle exploding about five minutes after it
happened. I thought of seven lives lost and felt the pain that was felt
when three others died years ago. I share the grief of many I think.
The news media is often tacky, tasteless and inconsiderate. I also
wonder if they know a reasonable definition of news. The shuttle
Challenger blew up on take-off and seven good people are lost. The news
people broadcast family and friends going from elation to tears on the
air. I never thought that this kind of thing was news myself. News is
that the shuttle blew up. News is that seven people died. News is that
nobody knows why yet. News isn't millions of people being forced to
invade someone's grief. You can't necessarily get to the off switch
fast enough to avoid this. The space program has a great many successes
under its belt. The successes shouldn't be forgotten in the midst of
pain and tragedy.
The news media, true to form, questioned the whole of manned space
flight and forgets the successes fast. I know of only two such
incidents in the U.S. space program in twenty-five years of manned space
exploration. Not a bad record. Look at the early history of hot air
balloons or lighter than air craft in general. Many people died but air
flight exploration continued. I think it was worth it.
What kind of mechanisms for escape are on the shuttle? I'm not
sure anything would have worked in this case. A half million gallons of
LOX and liquid hydrogen is quite a bomb. It just happened too fast.
I don't want the space program to end or the shuttle to stop being
used and developed. This would be a middle ages attitude towards
science. Humans are the most adaptable machines around and are wonderful
all purpose repair tools. No robot could ever equal that. If it could,
it would have to be human.
If we stop, all those who have died in space flight research have
died for nothing. This too would be a tragedy.
Chris Johnson
johnson@northeastern (CSNet)
johnson%northeastern@csnet-relay (ARPAnet)