The Columbia Accident!

Originally posted by MickeyDee

The next shuttle launch date is May 15th for NASA.

NASA havent given a launch date yet, they've just given the dates of the launch window which is a space of about 2-3 weeks!

Well, I guess are news agencies here are always giving wrong information because that is the date which was said on the news.

home.earthlink.net...

Thoughts I have voiced for 25 years, I started with President Regan. Then having had a vision of being in the future with Christ as I witnessed the destruction of a shuttle on liftoff.
I again heard a voice asking me to speak on what could turn into another disaster.

In both losses we see those in charge as the problem,

Challenger not listening to engineers,

Columbia not listening to engineers,

Michael

[edit on 10-3-2005 by Ark-Angel]

[edit on 10-3-2005 by Ark-Angel]

There will always be death in any space program.
It is part of progress.
Rockets will always explode.
People will always die.
There is nothing anyone can ever do to change this.
Loss of life is a price that must be paid to educate ourselves.

TextBut why was the shuttl ever allowed to fly when even run of the mill peopl from washington knew how fragile the heat proof tiles were?

as others have said....these pilots and crew are brave people,they know that the risks are high yet they still continue to push the boundrys and the envelope for the good and advancement of the human race.....space flight has never been safe....the law of averages points towards there safety records and succes rates being extremely high......i salute these brave men and women...they defiy the risks and 'push' on regardless......remember the huge losses of life that have been sustained during the early years of flight in aircraft?......in modern times its proven to be the safest form of travel....we will learn from our mistakes both in human error and mechanical failure....there will always be risks but hopefully they will lessen within time?

Originally posted by apc
There will always be death in any space program.

I agree that there are times when those willing shall pay the price for our desire for wisdom.

However both shuttle accidents were preventable if those in charge took the advice of engineers. Those knowing the limits of there product were ignored, in Challenger and in Columbia the desire to "Play ignorant" comes to my mind in that Challenger was a result of not listening to those voicing a problem. Proof is in Nasa cancelling the Air Force help in using satellites to take a picture of the shuttle, meaning that would show they were in the know of a problem. Sean O'Keef denied any knowledge of the shuttle having a problem due to the number of EMAILS he gets, poor excuse. I have worked with exchange and a simple Distribution list like " Critical STS-107" would alert those in charge.

We lose life only when blindness enters the picture, and that means those unwilling to see what those with engineering skills say something means exactly what they say. To ignore is what has taken the lives of those willing to stand in harms way.

Michael

The fact is Columbia should not have been allowed to return to earth. There should always be enough fuel to send the shuttle to the ISS in the case of an accident and there should always be another shuttle prepared to launch and collect the astronauts. NASA didnt have a back up plan and probably still dont now.
The Challenger and Columbia disasters were both caused by the stupidity of engineers and until NASA starts imagining the worst case scenario everytime, accidents in space will continue to happen.