Did NASA learn nothing from Challenger?

[AFK]

Shortly after the Challenger disaster there was all of this talk from NASA about how they were going to design a better escape protocol and develop better escape systems to make Shuttle failures survivable.  It seems judging by this latest report on the Columbia disaster that they didn't make any significant strides in that endeavour. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28436243/

On another note, how would you have liked to be that poor sap who actually was alive for a minute while his or her spaceship was disintegrating around them?  Jeezus fuck. 

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Shortly after the Challenger disaster there was all of this talk from NASA about how they were going to design a better escape protocol and develop better escape systems to make Shuttle failures survivable.  It seems judging by this latest report on the Columbia disaster that they didn't make any significant strides in that endeavour. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28436243/

On another note, how would you have liked to be that poor sap who actually was alive for a minute while his or her spaceship was disintegrating around them?  Jeezus fuck. 

Ground Control to Major Tom...

[Cainad (dec.)]

Better escape systems?

Uh, how about NASA needs to quit dicking around and send people into space using something that isn't nearly 30 years old, instead?

[Kai]

actually, how about NASA quit sending unneeded people into space when its much cheaper and safer to just send up new sattelites etc without human piggybacking? No body has pictures of astronauts postered on their walls anyway, its pictures of the crab nebula and saturn, all taken by unmanned space craft. Once the astronauts are back safe on earth the public stops caring. Maybe it was different in the 60s but now its so routine they don't pay attention. NASA needs to drop the human exploration a great amount and focus on safer, cheaper exploration that turns out results the public is interested in, plus, results that are much more interesting to science.

[AFK]

actually, how about NASA quit sending unneeded people into space when its much cheaper and safer to just send up new sattelites etc without human piggybacking? No body has pictures of astronauts postered on their walls anyway, its pictures of the crab nebula and saturn, all taken by unmanned space craft. Once the astronauts are back safe on earth the public stops caring. Maybe it was different in the 60s but now its so routine they don't pay attention. NASA needs to drop the human exploration a great amount and focus on safer, cheaper exploration that turns out results the public is interested in, plus, results that are much more interesting to science.

I completely agree with you.  Look at what's been acheived on Mars without a single human ever setting foot on the planet.  Sending men to Mars is but a glorified photo op and a feel-good story.  The money put into the safety systems for such a trip could surely be invested in some advanced robotics that could do whatever the humans were going to do. 

[Cainad (dec.)]

Troof. Sending people up has (had, really) some romantic appeal, but if we really want to learn what goes on out there, there's safer and more effective ways of doing that.

[East Coast Hustle]

the ultimate goal of space exploration should be endowing humanity with the ability to get the fuck off this rock if necessary. to that end, manned space exploration, while probably not needed on today's scale, should not be scrapped completely.

[Kai]

the ultimate goal of space exploration should be endowing humanity with the ability to get the fuck off this rock if necessary. to that end, manned space exploration, while probably not needed on today's scale, should not be scrapped completely.

I agree. I just don't think every little thing needs a spacewalk, and once we have figured out we can do something, have the technology to do it and it becomes routine, then there probably isn't much more reason to do it other than romanticism. NASA's been doing the same thing for years now in terms of human exploration of space. Aside from the ISS nothing new has really come from them in regards to that recently. If we're working towards some sort of permanent exoterran colony, then NASA should be looking at technologies that allow you to support life (water, air, food, fuel) detached from earth.

[Telarus]

Wait.... wasn't that a Pauly Shore movie?

[Kai]

Wait.... wasn't that a Pauly Shore movie?

What, Biodome?

[Telarus]

 

Not to many of those memes around in the popular entertainment genres right now, I agree.

[East Coast Hustle]

the ultimate goal of space exploration should be endowing humanity with the ability to get the fuck off this rock if necessary. to that end, manned space exploration, while probably not needed on today's scale, should not be scrapped completely.

I agree. I just don't think every little thing needs a spacewalk, and once we have figured out we can do something, have the technology to do it and it becomes routine, then there probably isn't much more reason to do it other than romanticism. NASA's been doing the same thing for years now in terms of human exploration of space. Aside from the ISS nothing new has really come from them in regards to that recently. If we're working towards some sort of permanent exoterran colony, then NASA should be looking at technologies that allow you to support life (water, air, food, fuel) detached from earth.

it appears that you and I are in complete agreement.

[Kai]

the ultimate goal of space exploration should be endowing humanity with the ability to get the fuck off this rock if necessary. to that end, manned space exploration, while probably not needed on today's scale, should not be scrapped completely.

I agree. I just don't think every little thing needs a spacewalk, and once we have figured out we can do something, have the technology to do it and it becomes routine, then there probably isn't much more reason to do it other than romanticism. NASA's been doing the same thing for years now in terms of human exploration of space. Aside from the ISS nothing new has really come from them in regards to that recently. If we're working towards some sort of permanent exoterran colony, then NASA should be looking at technologies that allow you to support life (water, air, food, fuel) detached from earth.

it appears that you and I are in complete agreement.

Seems that way, though, I can't remember the last time you and I got in an argument.

[Triple Zero]

the ultimate goal of space exploration should be endowing humanity with the ability to get the fuck off this rock if necessary. to that end, manned space exploration, while probably not needed on today's scale, should not be scrapped completely.

I agree. I just don't think every little thing needs a spacewalk, and once we have figured out we can do something, have the technology to do it and it becomes routine, then there probably isn't much more reason to do it other than romanticism. NASA's been doing the same thing for years now in terms of human exploration of space. Aside from the ISS nothing new has really come from them in regards to that recently. If we're working towards some sort of permanent exoterran colony, then NASA should be looking at technologies that allow you to support life (water, air, food, fuel) detached from earth.

it appears that you and I are in complete agreement.

i agree that you two are in agreement.

[LMNO]

I disagree, because I can.