[meteorite-list] Space Shuttle "Columbia" Explosion...

From: mark ferguson <refam_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:18:24 2004
Message-ID: <20030201203514.43418.qmail_at_web40201.mail.yahoo.com>

Hello Greg and List

Never is a pretty strong word there Greg. And I think
you missed the whole intent of the message. Which was
to point out that the shuttle design was the 6th or
7th place design as far a the designs go. We lost one
crew to human error and a design flaw which was KNOWN
to be a possible problem. You need to study the facts.
I never said there would be a totally safe means of
space travel. I said that the shuttle was not the
optimal design presented, just the one that the powers
at the time thought they could get approved because of
cost and time. No more, No less.
You really need to back off and understand what was
said.

Mark
--- Greg Redfern <gredfern_at_earthlink.net> wrote:
> Mark,
>
> First let me say I respect, but totally disagree
> with your stated opinion.
> Throughout the history of mankind, including our
> very first ancestors, if
> they had not had the courage, drive and or curiosity
> to venture into the
> unknown, we would not be where we are today.
>
> The STS-107 astronauts, more than any one else,
> knew the dangers
> represented in each flight. They know them, confront
> them as best as
> possible, and fly knowing that all that can be done
> regarding safety has
> been done. THERE WILL NEVER BE A TOTALLY SAFE WAY TO
> ENTER AND RETURN FROM
> SPACE....NEVER. Escape systems to operate at 39
> miles altitude and 12,500
> MPH just aren't feasible, period.
>
> Consider Mark the number of airline crashes and
> resultant fatalities
> that have occurred since Challenger on 1/28/86;
> consider the number of
> crashes and fatalities that have occurred in
> vehicles. By comparison the
> shuttles have a pretty impressive record of safety
> and reliability. Whatever
> happened on Columbia will probably be pinpointed (I
> hope enough telemetry,
> photographic evidence and relevant debris can be
> found to aid in the
> inquiry), analyzed and corrected so that the
> Discovery, Endeavour and
> Atlantis can fly once more.
>
> Mark, the destiny of humanity will be determined
> ultimately in our ability
> to live, work, populate and inhabit space. The only
> way the human race will
> be assured of survival is to send representatives to
> the other planets of
> the solar system and beyond. We on this List know of
> the dangers and
> consequences of impacts. The ONLY way to protect
> ourselves against the
> catastrophic effects of a Chicxulub event is to
> learn all we can about the
> adversary AND populate other worlds. We can't do
> that from the comfort and
> safety of our observatories and unmanned spacecraft
> - we have to fly into
> space.
>
> I will admit that NASA needs to go beyond the
> space shuttle and low Earth
> orbit. We need a replacement for the shuttle fleet
> and need to be going to
> the Moon and Mars. But this is more of a political
> challenge than a
> technical one. No bucks, no Buck Rogers. I doubt
> that Congress has the will
> in these turbulent times to appropriate more money
> to NASA. The Viet Nam war
> forced the cancellation of three Apollo missions due
> to budget cuts (and the
> ho-hum attitude of the American public about going
> to the Moon again and
> again). Our current war footing will have the same
> effect as does the
> general attitude of the American public - many
> people did not even know a
> shuttle mission was ongoing.
>
> To close, when we stop exploring and pushing
> ourselves to understand the
> unknown we are taking the first steps towards our
> own oblivion. Evolution
> has a way of eradicating life forms that cannot
> adapt...without manned and
> unmanned exploration of space we will have taken the
> first steps towards
> that end.
>
> May God bless the STS-107 crew and their
> families. They went to space for
> all of us to try and
> make our world a better place through their
> scientific explorations. They
> represent the best and brightest in the human
> species.
>
> Greg Redfern
> IMCA #5781
> www.meteoritecollectors.org
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: meteorite-list-admin_at_meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-admin_at_meteoritecentral.com]On
> Behalf Of Mark Fox
> Sent: Saturday, February 01, 2003 10:05 AM
> To: Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Space Shuttle "Columbia"
> Explosion...
>
>
> Feb. 1, 2003
>
> Dear Meteorite Enthusiasts,
>
> I just listened to the news right after the post
> from Mr. John Gwilliam. This is just terrible!!!!!!
> Why must we keep sending people up there? Space
> travel, no matter how breathtaking and awesome, is
> still too hazardous and not well thought out yet.
> People's lives in space are at stake every minute,
> and
> there is still no good way for them to escape to
> earth
> when a fateful problem arises!
>
> It is at all comprehensible that a tiny meteoroid
> sent
> the shuttle to earth as a fireball?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Mark Fox
> Newaygo, MI USA
>
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Received on Sat 01 Feb 2003 03:35:14 PM PST


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