The Shuttle

[merlinofchaos]

Some very wise words from Gene Kranz about the current Shuttle mission.

Excerpt:

I understand the tragedy inherent in risk-taking; I witnessed the fire aboard Apollo 1 in 1967 that killed three crew members. It filled us with anger at ourselves and with the resolve to make it right. After the fire we didn't quit; we redesigned the Apollo command module. During the Apollo missions that followed, we were never perfect. But we were determined and competent and that made these missions successful.

Comments

[eyelessgame.livejournal.com]

I so dearly love the fact that we're going into space, and trying to do so regularly -- I imprinted on the space program like a baby duck and I will always love it.

I just really, really, really wish that we would accomplish something there -- something that would excite the imagination, expand the spirit, enhance our knowledge, develop our resources, or lead to a multi-planetary human future.

Instead we're just employing a lot of people to go in circles, except when we accidentally kill someone because it all got too routine.

I wish I could believe the president was serious about actually getting us to Mars...

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

It's true that most of the science being done at the moment is being done by unmanned satellites. Part of the reason is that manned scientific missions (going to Mars, building a telescope on the Moon) have longer timelines than the average elected official's term in office.