So I don't know if anyone has caught that today is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. I read a piece on it over at msnbc.com which I'll link here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41296542?GT1=43001
A particular part of the article that got me thinking was this one:
QuoteIt was, as one grief and trauma expert recalls, "the beginning of the age when the whole world knew what happened as it happened."
"That was kind of our pilot study for all the rest to come, I think. It was so ghastly," said Sally Karioth, a professor in Florida State University's school of nursing.
So basically, the birth of Cable TV.
Yes, yes, I know CNN and Headline News had already been fairly established at this point. But I think this particular incident was one that really got the ball rolling as far as non-stop coverage of disasters, and I think we can all agree that this is a basic staple of Cable TV News as we know it today.
And I have to admit that leaves me with some pretty conflicting feelings. I actually think the coverage of Challenger was good and important. Because it eventually shined a light on how the bureaucracy, arrogance, and apathy of NASA basically caused this disaster. On the other hand, it I think put a fair amount of doubt into the utility and need of the U.S. Space Program, particularly the Shuttle Program. I think, overall, the Shuttle Program has most likely been a net plus for the country as the science has lead to some significant advancements. And if for no other reason, it inspired kids like me who had his head stuck in the stars.
Though, I do have to say, the disaster did have me reformulating my career plans. I no longer wanted to be an astronaut and decided I'd be fine just being one of those nameless spags at Mission Control.
I wasn't around when JFK was shot, and I was a bit young to be paying attention when John Lennon was killed. So Challenger was my first "where were you when..." moments and so it has particular poignancy for me and I can't help but take notice when it's in the news.
Anyway, I just wanted to throw out these thoughts that were conjured by the anniversary. Feel free to share your recollections or musings about the impact of this disaster on cable news, or whatever else this makes you think about.
I was sitting in my living room watching it on TV, not quite grasping what was going on. I knew my dad worked on the Space Shuttles, and he did come home from work early that day. And I remember him saying "The Challenger blew up, I gotta go." And then he left for a week.
It haunted us for years. YEARS. NASA and the FBI were around a lot questioning my dad. They finally cleared him of any involvement in like 1999. It was horrible.
I'm surprised that they haven't lost more Shuttles, Astronauts, ICBM's, Orbital Surveillance Sats, Skylabs, Moons, etc. Maybe they have, who really knows?
They lose satellites all the time.
and I'm pretty sure Columbia is what put the nail in the coffin of the shuttle program.
Totally watched it live as an 8th grader. National tragedy televised in schools, so awesome. And the next day on the schoolyard was alive with jokes about Krista MacAuliffe. :| Kids are jerks.
Suu, sorry that this is also tied to some personal tragedy for you and your folks. That must've been awful.
Quote from: Suu on January 28, 2011, 08:32:43 PM
They lose satellites all the time.
and I'm pretty sure Columbia is what put the nail in the coffin of the shuttle program.
That probably played into it, I think they were just basically waiting to get the ISS complete or mostly complete before pulling the plug. It doesn't seem like there are any concrete manned space flight programs after the ISS anyway. Everything else can be down with the other rockets they have at their disposal.
End of an era, perhaps
But hey wouldn't have pulled the whole Shuttle thing, unless they had a more awesomely Sci-fi program ready to take up the slack. That we don't know about yet.
Like H.I.M.E.O.B.S, only batting for the opposition.
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Yeah, that shit is so 20th century. Now that we have the Trans-dimensional Gravo-Magnetic Quark drive, we should use the fucking thing to go somewhere, Anywhere! They won't let me near it anymore though, since the last time. Bastards. Why can't they accept the fucking thing goes much better with LSD, and move on?
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:34:54 PM
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Ya just go out there, mine shit, build some shit, mine some more or just attach fucking rockets to asteroids and send them back to high Eart orbit for easier processing.
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:47:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:34:54 PM
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Ya just go out there, mine shit, build some shit, mine some more or just attach fucking rockets to asteroids and send them back to high Eart orbit for easier processing.
There's even a cheap, safe way to drop millions of tons of ore, etc, to Earth.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:49:41 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:47:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:34:54 PM
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Ya just go out there, mine shit, build some shit, mine some more or just attach fucking rockets to asteroids and send them back to high Eart orbit for easier processing.
There's even a cheap, safe way to drop millions of tons of ore, etc, to Earth.
I was thinking of that too.
And if we ever build shit on the Moon just mnor detour to the Moon.
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:51:16 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:49:41 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:47:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:34:54 PM
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Ya just go out there, mine shit, build some shit, mine some more or just attach fucking rockets to asteroids and send them back to high Eart orbit for easier processing.
There's even a cheap, safe way to drop millions of tons of ore, etc, to Earth.
I was thinking of that too.
And if we ever build shit on the Moon just mnor detour to the Moon.
Meh. There's no reason to go to the moon. There's nothing there worth having.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:52:13 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:51:16 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:49:41 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:47:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:34:54 PM
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Ya just go out there, mine shit, build some shit, mine some more or just attach fucking rockets to asteroids and send them back to high Eart orbit for easier processing.
There's even a cheap, safe way to drop millions of tons of ore, etc, to Earth.
I was thinking of that too.
And if we ever build shit on the Moon just mnor detour to the Moon.
Meh. There's no reason to go to the moon. There's nothing there worth having.
What about all that cheese?
I was in 4th grade, we had just gone into the 'gifted' class for the day and our teacher was not there... so we sat around then started being kids... about 15 minutes later the teacher showed up and freaked out on us for misbehaving while he was watching the disaster live on television.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:52:13 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:51:16 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:49:41 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:47:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:34:54 PM
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Ya just go out there, mine shit, build some shit, mine some more or just attach fucking rockets to asteroids and send them back to high Eart orbit for easier processing.
There's even a cheap, safe way to drop millions of tons of ore, etc, to Earth.
I was thinking of that too.
And if we ever build shit on the Moon just mnor detour to the Moon.
Meh. There's no reason to go to the moon. There's nothing there worth having.
Ya I guess.
What about Mars? It does have water.
Or should we just skip the inner planets and use the Belt as a jumping point for the outer planets and their moons?
Looking at this from the point of more places to stick people and resources.
Quote from: Jenne on January 28, 2011, 08:45:12 PM
Suu, sorry that this is also tied to some personal tragedy for you and your folks. That must've been awful.
It's all declassified now anyway.
Anyways, long story short, my dad never approved certain replacement parts for Challenger that he was inspecting while working for Grumman in New York. Something was wrong with them, obviously, so he basically said no.
Someone, who has now been caught and incarcerated for a very long time, decided to forge my dad's signature and send the parts to NASA anyway in time for the launch.
It took them the better part of about 12 years to fully clear my dad's name, but he said that they always treated him quite fairly and nicely, considering, and every time someone from the FBI would come over, I never got the vibe that they were going to arrest my dad. (of course now he would be treated like a terrorist.) He did have to undergo lie detector tests and all sorts of what he called "kinda cool" handwriting analysis. The forged signature was done pretty poorly, and they were able to identify the forger relatively quickly through process of elimination.
Right before the last leg of the trial before he was proven innocent is when that big chunk of the Challenger washed up in 1996. :tinfoilhat:
That's all I know. He won't talk about it anymore.
...and he had nothing to do with any part that was attached to the Columbia.
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 10:11:41 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:52:13 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:51:16 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:49:41 PM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on January 28, 2011, 09:47:48 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 28, 2011, 09:34:54 PM
Quote from: Jerry_Frankster on January 28, 2011, 09:30:56 PM
Fucking Moonbase Now Motherfuckers.
Also, Fuck Mars. (manned missions, anyway)
Why bother going into a gravity well?
Asteroid belt. No shit. There's everything you need, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get around.
Ya just go out there, mine shit, build some shit, mine some more or just attach fucking rockets to asteroids and send them back to high Eart orbit for easier processing.
There's even a cheap, safe way to drop millions of tons of ore, etc, to Earth.
I was thinking of that too.
And if we ever build shit on the Moon just mnor detour to the Moon.
Meh. There's no reason to go to the moon. There's nothing there worth having.
Ya I guess.
What about Mars? It does have water.
Or should we just skip the inner planets and use the Belt as a jumping point for the outer planets and their moons?
Looking at this from the point of more places to stick people and resources.
The Moon would be good for telescope arrays and solar power (long days, long nights), if you could get that energy back to Earth somehow.
As far as a base it would be good for some sort of stop off point because it has a low escape velocity.
Mars is a good place to stick people to a degree, since it seems like a significant amount of gravity is needed to keep people in good health. However, it would no be a particularly good place to use as a jumping off point (though, Phobos and Deimos would) due to a bad combination of larger escape velocity as well as an atmosphere too thin for
space air flight. You could design a type of shuttle that flies both like a plane and a rocket for travel to and from Earth. Use Bernoulli's principle to get to a high altitude, then kick on the rockets. With Mars, you'd have to rely on rockets. Unless you could manage to start flooding Mars with a heavy and thick gas like methane, which I can't even begin to think how it would be feasible, other than to genetically engineer cows to breathe argon and eat sand.
Also, I have no clear memory of the Challenger accident.
ETA: fixed a mistake.
Forget a million tons of ore from the belt, if we can find the right rare earth (gallanium? I forget) metal deposits just a few thousand tons of ore could give us cheap efficient and durable solar panels.
Quote from: Requia ☣ on January 29, 2011, 01:34:56 AM
Forget a million tons of ore from the belt, if we can find the right rare earth (gallanium? I forget) metal deposits just a few thousand tons of ore could give us cheap efficient and durable solar panels.
We could have cheap and efficient wind / sea generated power right now if the greedy bastards weren't so determined to sell us every fucking drop of oil on the planet first.
Quote from: BadBeast on January 29, 2011, 01:46:45 AM
Quote from: Requia ☣ on January 29, 2011, 01:34:56 AM
Forget a million tons of ore from the belt, if we can find the right rare earth (gallanium? I forget) metal deposits just a few thousand tons of ore could give us cheap efficient and durable solar panels.
We could have cheap and efficient wind / sea generated power right now if the greedy bastards weren't so determined to sell us every fucking drop of oil on the planet first.
And stir us up against ruining picturesque ocean views.
/Masshole. Put them damn things on the Cape.
Quote from: Doktor Blight on January 29, 2011, 01:53:22 AM
Quote from: BadBeast on January 29, 2011, 01:46:45 AM
Quote from: Requia ☣ on January 29, 2011, 01:34:56 AM
Forget a million tons of ore from the belt, if we can find the right rare earth (gallanium? I forget) metal deposits just a few thousand tons of ore could give us cheap efficient and durable solar panels.
We could have cheap and efficient wind / sea generated power right now if the greedy bastards weren't so determined to sell us every fucking drop of oil on the planet first.
And stir us up against ruining picturesque ocean views.
/Masshole. Put them damn things on the Cape.
We're getting them off the Block, I mean... Get with the times already, Mass.
Quote from: Suu on January 29, 2011, 10:29:19 AM
Quote from: Doktor Blight on January 29, 2011, 01:53:22 AM
Quote from: BadBeast on January 29, 2011, 01:46:45 AM
Quote from: Requia ☣ on January 29, 2011, 01:34:56 AM
Forget a million tons of ore from the belt, if we can find the right rare earth (gallanium? I forget) metal deposits just a few thousand tons of ore could give us cheap efficient and durable solar panels.
We could have cheap and efficient wind / sea generated power right now if the greedy bastards weren't so determined to sell us every fucking drop of oil on the planet first.
And stir us up against ruining picturesque ocean views.
/Masshole. Put them damn things on the Cape.
We're getting them off the Block, I mean... Get with the times already, Mass.
Rich assholes. What can I say?