March 10, 201214 yr This is sad but a historic moment in the US space program. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/first-amateur-video-challenger-shuttle-explosion-revealed-185802006.html
March 10, 201214 yr I remember vividly where I was when this happened. I was in grad school in my apartment off campus watching this on TV. I was totally shocked and thought immediately this would be the end of the space program because of over reaction to the event. It was so upsetting especially for the female teacher that was on board the shuttle. The news was all about her for a while. Very sad event.
March 10, 201214 yr Active Members I saw it live and, of course, saw it 50,000 more times during news repeats. The death of MS. McAuliffe was a shock but so were the other deaths, as well as the loss of the spacecraft itself. Likely this most public tragedy somewhat prepared the nation for some more that were sure to follow and did. That does not make the loss of life any less serious but perhaps a bit less shocking. However, I saw nothing new or of special interest in the Super 8 film. The blown up media film showed the "O" ring failing leading to the explosion which the Super 8 did not. Too bad the US has lost the will to continue space exploration. It would provide a lot of employment as well as technological advances. Best regards, RA1
March 11, 201214 yr Too bad the US has lost the will to continue space exploration. It would provide a lot of employment as well as technological advances. All too true. Even robotic probes, with their long history of doing great science for peanuts compared with costs of human spaceflight, are feeling the pinch. Recently saw a news item that one perfectly well functioning experiment platform (can't recall which one) will no longer be operated, simply for lack of funding to buy time on ground receiving stations. The idiocy. Even some of the most advanced and fruitful land-based astronomy is getting the ax: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/Closure-Looms-for-Kecks-Interferometer-139509093.html Few big things in life have disappointed me more than the species going to the moon, then retrenching to spend the next forty years fiddle-farting around in low earth orbit, wasting time and resources on the kluge called the Shuttle and the white elephant known as the Space Station. Now I will be extinct before we do anything notable in manned space exploration again. What does it mean when we lose the curiosity and drive to quest outward, mentally, spiritually and physically?
March 11, 201214 yr Active Members It means we shall die as a curious American species who previously had the will and motivation to explore. Explore or die. Sorry that is now the imminent apparent conclusion (die). I realize it is all very expensive but what isn't these days? If we do not pursue "other" things then we shall surely perish because of our own poor attitude. Best regards, RA1
March 12, 201214 yr I realize it is all very expensive but what isn't these days? If we do not pursue "other" things then we shall surely perish because of our own poor attitude. Exactly. If da Gama and Magellan had put their little jaunts on hold til all the problems at home were solved and paid for...
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