This maybe the tragic problem-watch close:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/867336.asp
Well, there are multiple parallel investigations. Agreement and discrepency will be key factors among them. A surprisingly complete and accurate determination is likely, though it will be time consuming. Meanwhile, there is a Space Station that has lost its bus connection. The Russian Taxi really isn't up to the job of getting the workers from home to the plant and back in adequate numbers or suitably timely fashion.. The Tragedy becomes a Crisis.
timber
Here's something that surprised me:
"Like the other shuttles Columbia had been flying for twice as long as its designers first envisaged. Some parts were made so long ago, in the early 1970s, that they were no longer available. Engineers said yesterday that they have had to turn to the internet auction site eBay for spare parts."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-564778,00.html
(From Tim Reid in Washington and James Doran in Norwood, Texas
The London Times: Nasa 'ignored' shuttle safety alert)
Why manned spaceflight? Survival of the species.
We cannot stay confined to Earth, because the risks are too great and we deserve to survive. Our window of opportunity is short. Unmanned spaceflight has its place and we'll continue to deploy communications satellites and other resource-saving tools that way, but the only way we're going to get better at getting people off the planet and back is to practice, learn, and improve.
So why can't we stay confined to Earth? Just look at the trends. In the distant past, a hungry lion could slay a small tribe. In the 1300s, black death could wipe out entire villages. In the last century, a single bomb could destroy a major city. You can see where the curve points. In an era of demented bigots thinking God is commanding them to kill civilians, and with evolution in fields like nanotechnology and germ warfare, the threat can outstrip even the amazing rate of population growth and before long will have the potential to end the life of our entire species. If we can spread to the nearby planets and solar systems, we might be able to outrun the waves of self-destruction so that our brief time here has the potential to mean something in the longer term. If we kill ourselves, we lose. If our population growth and resource-consumption rates outstrip the supply of materials we need to escape the Earth's gravity, we'll be this millennium's replay of those who felled enough trees on Easter Island that ships could no longer be built. Again we lose.
Do we deserve to survive as a species? To be sure, we've got more than a fair share of hate and bigotry and inequality and suffering, but we've also got love and honor, sacrifice and curiosity, intelligence and honesty, and the sense of wonder and a sense of humor. I say we deserve a shot to see what we'll be when we grow up.
Suppose you don't buy those arguments. You think humanity would just be a boil on the butt of the galaxy. Or you disbelieve the population-growth curves, or, worse yet, you point out that war and starvation have a way of keeping the population in check. Excuse me, but that's a solution? If you're in that camp, at least think about simple quality of life -- as long as life lasts here in this increasingly precarious world.
War after war has been fought over resources. Opinions vary, but I look at population-growth curves and shrinking mineral and natural-gas reserves and I'd be willing to bet the curves will continue to accelerate. Despite those people who say everyone alive could fit into the state of Texas, my idea of living doesn't center on having my own paved two square meters and eating piped-in gruel.
Each new frontier gets more difficult and costly to explore, but each one dramatically broadens our knowledge and expands our resources. Forget about trivialities like Velcro and Tang. This next frontier might unveil new energy sources or merely a continue the growth in the knowledge base that has doubled our lifespan, reduced our work week, allowed us to make significant repairs to our bodies, and created microwave popcorn.
Without exploring our world, a desert tribe might never have known that just over the hill was a lush valley packed with shade, lush plant life, and water. Who knows what lies ahead for us?
Maybe the meek will inherit the Earth. The brave are likely to discover places even more beautiful and exciting. The debt to those explorers and their families is one we'll never be able to repay. The very least we can do is say thank you.
John E. Stith, Copyright 2003, Earth.
(Stith is a noted science-fiction author and for the last 30 years has held a variety of positions in the Air Force and private industry, including a position at Goddard Spaceflight Center, and he now works on the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite program.)
And one more sentiment before this thread comes to a close:
Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet --
We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the friendly skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.
The Green Hills of Earth -- Robert A. Heinlein
