Space Shuttle Columbia lost?

[mythusmage]

I am the eagle,
I live in high country,
In rocky cathedrals,
that reach to the sky.

I am the hawk,
And there's blood on my feathers,
But time is still turning,
They soon will be dry.

And all those who see me,
And all who believe in me,
Share in the freedom,
I feel when I fly.

Come dance with the west wind,
Sail o'er the mountain tops,
Sail o'er the canyons,
And up to the stars.

Reach for the heavens,
And hope for the future,
All that we can be,
And not what we are.
---John Denver, The Eagle and the Hawk

 

[EverSoar]

My condolences to all involved.

Australia actually had the oppurtinity of sending some of our spiders up into space, from our Melbourne University.
Its sad, that such breakthroughs and lives can be lost.
We lost an important part of us today, people willing to go into space, to discover and be part of science.
We can't ask for much more in people.


Also, the space debris, are radioactive, and contain highly cotaminates, and people are highly advised officially by NASA to not touch them, and should they come in contact with them, to go to emergency room.

 

[InvaderSquoosh]

Ad astra per aspera, to the stars through difficulty.

May we continue to brave the challenges of space so that we may touch the stars.

 

[Ysgarran]

Our nation prays once again.

But for some they look at making money:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3400150082&category=11153

Someone else had Debris listed but thankfully E-bay has shut down the listing! Ebay just shut the above link down as well. Way to go E-bay! Some people aught to be shot!

Agreed.

Other auctions keep popping up. I don't have an account on e-bay but people should provide the strongest possible negative feedback on anyone trying to sell the debris.

Ysgarran.

 

[Celebrim]

"In these cases you have innocent people who are killed by a tragic accident who were just trying to go about their lives and survive, where in the case of the shuttle crash, you have 7 people who knew the risks of their job and still chose to go."

Have you considered that the reason the story is extraordinary is because seven people who knew the risks of the job still chose to go? If you add to that the nature of the job, undertaken by these seven people with the intention in thier hearts being of benefit to of all mankind, such disproportionate mourning becomes more reasonable. NASA considers itself a family because this endeavor occurs because some very talented and dedicated people pour all thier lives into it. I KNOW, even though I am not there now, that people in Huntsville, AL mourn thier own because I know that in Huntsville, AL and where ever the space program touches thier are idealistic people whose hopes for tommorrow reside in the lives of those seven young men and women. It is not that the lives of these seven people are more precious than anyone elses lives, but that the fragile dream they carry is worth seven lives. So much so that there are any number of people who would have gladly given there lives to see that ship safely to the ground had anyone been able to do anything about it.

So forget the media circus and the horde of journalists who don't understand what is going on. It isn't about that. You don't understand what it is about because to you, I would guess, the shuttle program is not a tangible thing. If you want to understand and know what it is about, you have to go down to Kennedy at launch and be with those people.

 

[Ace]

7 of our best gone in a flicker.


Requiescat in Pace Explorator Astrum

 

[annadobritt]

....
Reach for the heavens,
And hope for the future,
All that we can be,
And not what we are.
---John Denver, The Eagle and the Hawk

Very appropriate, indeed. Been a long time since I heard that song.

When the Challenger exploded, I was watching the launch on tv. Left me in shock for several days.

My thoughts go out to the families, friends and colleagues left behind.

 

[Wolv0rine]

seconded - this should motivate us to put more effort into manned space travel, not less: we owe it to them, ourselves, and our children.

What it should motive us to do is de-commision old shuttles. With the age of that vehicle, it should never have been anywhere but in a museum. These are human lives lost, because someone didn't want to spend the money to build shuttles less than 15-20 years old (it was one of the '80s shuttles, wasn't it?). Even if it was in 'tip-top shape', just the age of the material such as the heat shingles should have kept it grounded. It's a terrible thing, I mourn for the crew and their families.

 

[Hollywood]

What it should motive us to do is de-commision old shuttles. With the age of that vehicle, it should never have been anywhere but in a museum. These are human lives lost, because someone didn't want to spend the money to build shuttles less than 15-20 years old (it was one of the '80s shuttles, wasn't it?). Even if it was in 'tip-top shape', just the age of the material such as the heat shingles should have kept it grounded. It's a terrible thing, I mourn for the crew and their families.

Columbia was the first shuttle in space. However, none of the materials such as the heat shingles were "old", regular maintenance kept the shuttle up to date and all the shingles are expected after every flight and replaced. Its basic frame however, was the 15 to 20 years old but the rest of it had been modernized and updated.

 

[Ranger REG]

My prayers goes out to the surviving friends and families of the STS-107 crew, to NASA, and to the grieving international space community. Despite what anyone says about this, they are our heroes, including Ilan Ramon of Israel.

While I understand the need to replace the aging fleet of space shuttles, my heart will be heavy should this be their last mission. They are truly the modern relics of our times.