[Sobek]

Originally posted by Darkage



Even with new shuttles with the latest tech this kinda thing can happen.

That may well be true unless it was a mechanical problem. But when doing something as serious as manned space flight, i believe that great care should be taken because of the lives aboard and if that means newer more expensive tech, then so be it.
unfortunately, no matter how it happened, the result may be the same and set back manned space flight in this country several years.

[Darkage]

Originally posted by Sobek


That may well be true unless it was a mechanical problem. But when doing something as serious as manned space flight, i believe that great care should be taken because of the lives aboard and if that means newer more expensive tech, then so be it.
unfortunately, no matter how it happened, the result may be the same and set back manned space flight in this country several years.

Ofcourse the latest tech should be used to make it more safer for the crew and other personel that work on the shuttle. But that still doesn't mean that it is flawless, it can still explode, crash or anything horible.

[vyper]

I think this is the moment when we realise just how perilous the journey to new frontiers can be.
"Remember them not for how they died, but for those ideals by which they lived."
Ad Astra Per Aspera
(A rough road leads to the Stars)

[wEvil]

well....while its tragic im slightly more worried about the impact on an already underfunded and flailing space programme.

They did say something about a peice of insulation foam breaking off one of the fuel tanks and striking the wing....although from what happened it looked more to me like the heat shield cracked.


Back to the drawing board

[an0n]

Can anyone say "China"?

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Bobboau
first shuttle in twenty years to blow up had an Israili on board, gee, I wonder

yeah, he's right, i'm sure either one of three things happened:

1) The Israeli purposefully sabotaged the shuttle, so as to kill himself and everyone else on board.
2) The other crew, hating the Israeli, purposefully sabotaged the shuttle, so as to kill the evil Israeli, and everyone else on board.
3) Someone shot it down, because they don't like Israelis.


Wake up dude, i'm sure this wasn't some conspiracy

[kode]

everything is a conspiracy.

sad story, this.

[Solatar]

When the challenger was destroyed, wasn't there a teacher on board?


Lesson: Don't send anybody but astronaughts into space:D

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Black Wolf
Stealth's in Texas isn't he?

yeah, but I didn't see anything, because it went mostly over central Texas (Fort Worth, Dallas, etc.) and I'm in Houston, so i'm a little out of its way.  Still, if i'd looked for it i probably would have seen it.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/01/shuttle.columbia/index.html

Just for information, heh, remember that the shuttle doesn't land in Houston, it lands in the KSC, Florida.

All the landings and take-offs are always in Florida, the only thing they do in Houston is Mission Control, NASA, which is about 30-40 miles away from where I live.

[Stealth]

heh, on CNN, they HAD to add this:

Ramon's father was at a television station watching the unfolding coverage. Ramon, 48, took part in the 1981 bombing of the nuclear reactor in Iraq.

... Iraq HAD to be mentioned lol

of course Bush's going to accuse Iraq of sabotaging the space shuttle, and go to war with them.

[karajorma]

This is very sad news. The space program was in a bad enough state (especially after the loss of Ariane a few months ago). Now it looks like neither america or europe will be doing anything for a while.

Reports say they heard an explosion but there wouldn`t have been much fuel on board by that point (just enough for manouvering and for the fuel cells). Possibly something went wrong with the heat shield (although the shuttle was already through the blackout period and the worst of the re-entry)

I feel sorry for everyone at NASA and the families of the astronauts

[LtNarol]

Originally posted by an0n
Can anyone say "China"?

Thats offensive.

I didn't find out about this until just now, and no, no debris has fallen on my house; although I am rather north in relation to the rest of Texas in Dallas.  God bless their souls.

EDIT: Scratch that, one piece apparently made its way into a condo complex nearby and set the place on fire

[Stealth]

one of my friends from Nacadoches said a burning thing landed in his neighbor's yard.  obviously from the shuttle.  wow

EDIT:  i'm on the phone with him

[Sobek]

Originally posted by LtNarol
Thats offensive.

i think he meant that this will give  their space program the chance to catch up and even possibly excel beyond the U.S.
They are taking notes.

[karajorma]

BTW whatever happened to the russian space shuttle?

[Fetty]

since when do rushians have a "shuttle" ?

[Sobek]

Originally posted by Fetty
since when do rushians have a "shuttle" ?

since the twilight of the cold war, i believe shortly after the soviet union collapse, so did their shuttle program.

[kode]

yes. they discontinued it, because cheap carrying rockets turned out cheaper for them than shuttles were.

the mother of a former friend of mine worked on that shuttle project... or so he claimed.

[Alikchi]

Well, I didn't see this coming..

[Alikchi]

Originally posted by Sobek

i think he meant that this will give  their space program the chance to catch up and even possibly excel beyond the U.S.
They are taking notes.

I'm sure they'd like to, but in the past decade or so they've changed they've changed their strategy from "challenging the West in space and sending men to the moon, etc, etc," to "being ****ing broke".