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Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Targhan on February 01, 2003, 06:48:32 PM
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We regretfully inform you that the space-shuttle Columbia was lost to an accident today over north-central Texas, USA. Currently, no one expects any survivors. Our sympathies goes out to the families who have lost a loved one in this terrible accident.
This is a tragic day for the United States, NASA, and technology. The shuttle program, and likely the entire U.S. space program, will likely come to a near halt while the accident is being investigated.
More News:
www.foxnews.com (http://www.foxnews.com) www.cnn.com (http://www.cnn.com)
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This is terrible news. I have great respect for nasa and all their men and women. I hope they discover what happened quickly.
Not to make light of the subject, but the sts-107
patch appears to have a shooting star on it. Similar to the images of the shuttles demise.
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/images/sts107_patch.gif
More info on the patches meaning at
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-107/html/sts107-s-001.html
The seven stars (on patch) represent the mission crew members and honor the original astronauts who paved the way to make research in space possible. The constellation Columba (the dove(the seven stars)) was chosen to symbolize peace on Earth and the Space Shuttle Columbia.
With all Respect,
James Hamrick
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:cry:
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This isn't what I really thought I'd wake up to this morning. It is really terrible, and quite a shock.
I've always been a space buff, right back to my earliest memories. I remember the Challenger disaster quite vividly - I was in high school at the time.
There is plenty of speculation as to what caused it, but it may have to to with some damage to the left wing on take off from a piece of insulation from the center tank.
Astronauts have always been heros to me, and its really terrible to see this.
Additional News Links:
Canada.com (http://canada.com/national/)
CTV news (http://www.ctv.ca/) (video available)
Local6.com (http://mfile.akamai.com/7882/live/reflector:23942.ram) Live video
Global News (http://www.canada.com/toronto/globaltv/info/video/020103shuttle.ram) Live Video (Canadian)
Google news (http://news.google.com/)
3:34pm Nasa Press conference
They lost temperature information on the left wing, the loss of temperature data and then loss of tire pressure data just before the loss of contact.
3:48pm
From the breakdown of the information that NASA has given out it appears to *me* that the damage sustained to the left wing on launch probably was more serious than was first thought. Upon re-entry, the left wing's damage allowed heat into the frame of the wing, eventually taking it off, and then making the orbiter tumble until it broke apart.
At the velocity and heat levels involved I don't expect that the astronauts felt very much. That much is fortunate, rather than what some of the astronauts on Challenger experienced.
A terrible day indeed.
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Sad day. :-(
My respects go to their families.
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To all the family and friends of the seven who died on the shuttle, my thoughts are with you
:cry:
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Thoughts and prayers to the astronauts and their families. This is a very sad day. :-(
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Too many people forget how much technical precision it takes to pull of a space mission and how much risk is involved. There's no such thing as a "routine" shuttle launch, and each mission shows the dedication and expertise of everyone in the space program, both on the ground and above.
Now is the time to mourn those lost, and appreciate their sacrifice. Let's not forget how much work it takes to get the job done, and how much work it will take to keep going.
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A sad day here in Tennessee. :-(
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Very sad indeed.
This was the first shuttle mission for 4 of the 7 onboard. This mission also included Colonel Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli in space.
Thoughts and prayers go out for the families of those lost in this accident.
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RIP
(http://www.ekstrabladet.dk/images/6ip00kh9_0280178bed26c5c6.jpg)
:-(
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Very sad. They all knew the risks involved, still they went. Each grateful for the opportunity. The greatest honor we can offer is not letting this accident hinder the further exploration and experimentation in space. By continuing we can marginally offer the respect they deserve for their contributions to humanity.
NASA Emergency Notice (http://www.nasa.gov/)
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:cry:
For more information on this disaster head on over to http://www.space.com .
My respect goes out to all the families of the crew.
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For Whom Shall I Weep?
For whom shall I weep?
Seven souls who knew the way
Did not make it home one day
Listen to the talking heads cry out
For the world to mourn and shout
They knew the risk and knew the way
But did not make it home one day
For whom shall I weep?
Seven thousand snatched away
To Mengela’s open jaws today
Listen for the news to seep
Not a whimper, not a peep
For whom shall I weep today?
Seven thousand snatched away
For whom shall I weep?
Seven thousand fall to sleep
For whom shall I weep?
For whom shall I weep?
For whom shall I weep?
© copyright 2003 William F. Maddock
It's not just the babies. It's also the mothers who are victims.
Still, it is a tragedy, and as my anger swirls around the hypocrisy of the media, my thoughts and prayers are also for the families of the astronauts.
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I`m sorry :-(
It reminds me the tragedy of the Challenger when I was a little.
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It's a sad thing, but remember there are deaths by accident everywhere around the world, most a lot worse, and these people knew the risks. I know this sounds heartless - but it's not, really. They'll go down in history as heroes who lost their lives for their country and for humanity. I wish I could go that way.
What's perhaps worse than the deaths of seven good people is the damage done to the space program, and to mankind's conquest of space. This is likely to set it back years, if not decades, and that's not how I would like to celebrate the bravery of seven astronauts.
People sometimes die when they try to aspire to greater things, but if we gave them up because of that we might as well go back to the trees.
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This was a sad day, and a tragic loss. My sympathies go out to the families of the astronauts.
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KennyR pointed out:
People sometimes die when they try to aspire to greater things, but if we gave them up because of that we might as well go back to the trees.
:cry: I forget who said this first, but...
"If you reach for the stars, you may not grasp them. -But you won't bring back a handful of dirt."
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It's a very sad day, major tragedy after the new year celebration.
I want to express my condolences and deepest sympathy to the families of the seven astronauts.
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Horrible.. :cry:
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:-(
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:cry: :cry: :cry: :boohoo: :boohoo: :boohoo: :nervous: :cry: :cry:
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By sheer chance I had the tube on just as they were showing the re-entry of the shuttle wreckage over Texas. You hope against hope, but you know anyway. :-( I hope that, as we mourn this loss and find and correct whatever went wrong (if possible), we realize that these astronauts wouldn't want this to stop the space program. To truly honor their memory, we must go on. The President has already said as much, and I hope that is the case. Thankfully we have the added inertia of the space station, but I know that many will start pissing and moaning about how much we "waste" on the space program just because we've lost 14 astronauts in 17 years. Maybe if the budget didn't get cut year after year, we'd be working with something better than 1970s technology to go to and from orbit.
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I have zero respect for NASA which began as a huge publicity stunt and has degenerated into a laughable publicity stunt. The only reason they even had a launch was because they were going to put the first Isreali in space.
END MANNED SPACE FLIGHTS!
They cost too much and have nothing to do with science. I can't believe we're still wasting my tax money to fry tokens to a crisp. :-x
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Sad Sad Day.
Terrible News.
I hope that this does not put an end to the space program.
Please Please DONT go souvineer hunting.
:-( :-(
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very sad for their familys .
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Gully Foyle is my name,
and Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place,
the stars my destination.
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http://www.amiworld.it/interviste/green/HalInterview-eng.html
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Composed by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. at 30-thousand feet over England in 1941.
High Flight
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings:
Sunward I ‘ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence: hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew --
And, while the silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
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This is a terrible tragedy, but alas this is the cost of progress.
I like AmiNTT have always been a bit of a space buff from when I was very little and agree these guys (and gals) are heroes.
Everyone sufferers risks of one kind or another every day, on the other hand Astronauts put themselves in much, much greater danger for the betterment of Human civilisation. They have my utmost respect.
I'm very glad that President Bush said that despite this progress will continue.
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Maybe if the budget didn't get cut year after year, we'd be working with something better than 1970s technology to go to and from orbit.
They use old technology on purpose, firstly everything has to be qualified for space (radiation resistance etc.) and they only use things which are tried and tested. Using the latest tech would be a very risky move. Consequently you'll probably still find things like 68000 CPUs in the Shuttle.
NASA take a tiny fraction of the US budget, perhaps this may actually get them more.
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My condolences go to their Families, Friends and Colleagues.
Nicholas Blachford :-(
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IRAQIS CALL SHUTTLE DISASTER GOD'S VENGEANCE February 2, 2003
Reuters reports: “Immediate popular reaction in Baghdad on Saturday to the loss of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew -- including the first Israeli in space -- was that it was God's retribution.
‘We are happy that it broke up,’ government employee Abdul Jabbar al-Quraishi said.
‘God wants to show that his might is greater than the Americans. They have encroached on our country. God is avenging us,’ he said...
Car mechanic Mohammed Jaber al-Tamini noted Israeli air force Colonel Ilan Ramon was among the dead when the shuttle broke up over the southwestern United States 16 minutes before its scheduled landing.
The 48-year-old Israeli astronaut was a fighter pilot in the Israeli air force. He was the youngest pilot in a team that bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. Israel said the reactor was intended to develop nuclear weapons.
‘Israel launched an aggression on us when it raided our nuclear reactor without any reason, now time has come and God has retaliated to their aggression,’ Tamini said.
There were no such signs of jubilation over the shuttle disaster in any of the Palestinian territories. The official response from the Palestinians was one of condolence.
‘President (Yasser) Arafat and the Palestinian Authority offer their condolences to the six American families and the Israeli family who lost their loved ones in the catastrophe,’ Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official and spokesman, told Reuters.
Erekat said Arafat had sent President Bush a message of condolences over the loss of the NASA space agency's shuttle. The United States, Israel's closest ally, is the chief Middle East peace broker…”
:-o
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Like so many Israelis yesterday, I've stopped everything and turned on the TV, intending to see live the return of the Columbia and it's seven astronouts - among them one of our finest, who became these last few weeks almost a family member to every Israeli household.
I was watching Channel 2 - Ilan Ramon's old father sat at the table of the studio, waiting for his son to land, after making a small history and, once more, making him proud.
He was speaking about his son in a way only fathers do - a way that makes teenage boys a bit embaraced, and mumble "Cmmon, Dad, I'm not THAT great..."
And then the comm link broke.
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It's hard for me to describe what I felt, but when I saw the old man's face changing from bliss to grief in an instant, I understood once more that despite everything else - that astronouts are dear to most of us; that almost all of us regret every innocent life that's lost (except a few Iraqis, if the above post is true); that for Israelis Ramon became a beloved hero - despite all of this, first and formost it's a loss to the families.
For them, nothing will be the same anymore.
I'm an Israeli, so I should be a bit more emune to tragedy - God knows I've seen enough - but tears are coming down my face as I write this.
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We must continue the Space Program.
Not only for the things that we've already got from it, but mainly for the things that we have yet to gain.
We don't even know what they are, yet.
We must reach for the Stars.
Good night to you all.
Moshe Papismedov,
Israel
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@Papissmed
Sorry about your loss.
I feel the same way that you feel.
I, personally think that Israel is a very special place, along with the people there.
Everytime I turn the television on, everyone is fighting over there.
I sure wished that everyone could forget about thier differences and love one another.
I wished that there was an easy way for peace.
I wished the world could live in peace forever, and love thier neighbors, but I guess that's just dreaming as long as I'm on this earth in this body of flesh.
One day though, I know Israel will be free, and other people will be too.
:-)
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‘God wants to show that his might is greater than the Americans. They have encroached on our country. God is avenging us,’ he said...
#### those scum. pardon my language - but dying as an astronaut is an honorable death. these people were talented and intelligent - unlike those losers who think it's ok to throw planes through buildiings.
what the a-holes who lack logic and common sense like to forget is that death in space is actually rare. especially if you compare it to cars, taking drugs, etc. (that doesn't mean it's ever accepable).
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Poster: Mountain_Myst Date: 2003/2/2 17:06:25
@Papissmed
Sorry about your loss.
I feel the same way that you feel.
...
One day though, I know Israel will be free, and other people will be too.
:-)
Amen. :-)
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I still remember what I was doing when the Challenger was destroyed. The Columbia shuttle diaster will be the same, forever etched in memory.
Hopefully no one will forget, the puzzle will be solved, and the space program will move forward. Personally, I would like to see a whole new system designed and built, using an entirely different power and propulsion system, based on cutting edge science and technology. Reaction systems are reaching their limits. I can hope, though, and now maybe this diaster will be the nudge to move forward in this way.
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They use old technology on purpose, firstly everything has to be qualified for space (radiation resistance etc.) and they only use things which are tried and tested. Using the latest tech would be a very risky move. Consequently you'll probably still find things like 68000 CPUs in the Shuttle.
Regrettably, this isn't the case. If the space program had continued as planned (i.e. with something MUCH closer to the original budget request) after the Apollo program, a far more effective shuttle program would have begun in the mid-'70s and not the early '80s. The 68000 series was produced well after the shuttle program began. They actually use something closer to Apple II tech (6502) or the old Z80s. The only 680x0 computers I know of in use by NASA are the Amigas still being used to handle flight data telemetry (odd how things are related, eh?).
Yes, they do perform extensive testing of the kind you're talking about, but given better budgets, the testing would occur that much quicker and design specs would not have to be scaled back so much. For instance, did you know that as originally conceived, the shuttle would have had a manned and completely reusable booster that would have glided back to the ground much as the shuttle does? Not that this particular difference would have prevented this tragedy, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's discovered that had some budget-enforced design compromise not been made, the risks of shuttle re-entry could have been greatly minimized.
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If Israel want freedom, first they have to realise that it comes through celebrating life, not dealing death. That goes for all of us.
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I greatly feel for the famillies involved in this tragic incident that has happened in the last few days. I think that this will bring the budget up and new designs for completely ersuable space craft will emerge from the wood work. I only hope something like this will never happen again.
I thank god that i was not old enough to remebr teh challenger shuttle crash (I was only 1 at the time) and this will be forever stuck i my mind.
I wish my sympathies on the families of all in involved. I also wish for peace where there is none in this world. i am upset by this trumer. :cry: :boohoo:
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My thoughts go to the families of the astronauts, and the millions of people starving in the 3rd world, the thousands of Irakis waiting to get killed by a very scary man with too much power on his hands, and all the other people who didn't have their asses strapped to a multi-billion dollar space-shuttle when they died, and so didn't make the evening news.
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I would point out that the Columbia was hardly "old" - barely at 1/3 of its designed life cycle (100 flights on airframe).
The orbiter went through two Orbiter Maintenance Down Periods (OMDP) during which the orbiter is completely overhauled. During these two OMDPs, over 150 modifications were made. During the last one (1999), a new "glass" cockpit was installed using multi-function displays rather than dials to show information.
I'd equate it to stripping a car down to the frame and rebuilding it.
One thing that sickens me are the people who use disasters to push their political agendas... "Ban manned space flight" and the like. I understand that they must make noise at times like this because its the only time that they will get any real press, but that doesn't excuse it in my mind.
There are legitimate uses for both types of spaceflight, manned and robotic. Pioneer 10 was launched 25 days before I was born, and it holds a special spot for me.
Not everything is easy, or safe. The rewards of taking the risks can be great, with the possibility of failure always there. The people of the space program are heros, one and all.
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Thank you all for your response.
It is nice to hear so many different people feeling the same way about something, in such a torn-apart world.
@ Mountain_Myst:
There are very few things that most of the Israelis (and I have no doubt that most Palestinians, too) want more than peace.
In the last few years most of us also realize that the peace agreement should include a Palestinian state.
So I think there's hope, yet - although this is probably the most dificult time I remember (I'm 33).
@ cecilia:
It's not about Logic and Common Sense - it's about Hate.
I can only asure you that many Arabs (Israeli Palestinians) that I personaly know are among the kindest and nicest people I've ever met, and I'm proud for knowing them.
Unfortunatly, there are the other kind, too.
And THOSE are deadly.
I admit it is hard for me to remember this, sometimes (when a relative of mine was blown to bits in Tel-Aviv, driving a Bus; When a mother and her tow children were murdered in their sleep at point blank; ... ), but there are many decent Arabs who just want to live their lives, and are cought in these events.
@ Billsey:
Amen.
@ KennyR:
I'm sorry you feel that way.
We think we're just trying to survive.
I think you are completely wrong, and I have my arguments, but I think this is not the time or place to get into that.
If you want to hear (or read) what I have to say, you'r welcome:
papiss@netvision.net.il
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I didn`t know this until I read the front of a newspaper. I was and still am shocked. I saw Columbia land on STS78 on my birthday (07/07) in 96. I seem to remember I have something in a book which has a list of predictions for shuttle accidents. I`m sure there was something about reentry accidents.
I haven`t the time to do much research into this at the moment. Does anybody know what STS (mission) number this was?
I wonder if they will put a tiny sensor on each tile like a web of nerves all over the craft. All this would be linked to the avionics so the crew weren`t in the dark on reentry. They would know if they were in trouble or not. It would be very complicated, but thats one way of knowing surely.
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Did anybody here see Challenger live on TV? I did and it wasn`t nice. Though I was very young so can`t remember it 100%. Thats probably the best way!
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@ Nick:
1. STS 107.
2. I thought of tile-sensors two, but then I realized that it's not practical:
Too many tiles, sending too much information - more systems that can go wrong.
Wiring, that needs rebuilding of a whole chassis, and ads to the over-all weight.
It may be practical in a new shuttle, though (if they don't use some new insulation technique).
3. I remember the Chalenger. I was 17.
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I know of the practicalities, but something has to be done. They can`t go on using the current method really.
Though if they had a small drone fitted with a camere and using a remote link to the shuttle, they could manually inspect the exterior. It does look likely it was the insulation hitting the leading edge of the left wing though.
Only STS 107? I`d have thought they`d done much more than that, by now. That means they`ve only done 29 missions in 7 years. Thats not many especially when they are making the ISS.
If you want a book on the shuttle get the one written by some guy Jenkins. I haven`t got the most uptodate edition yet, as it only covers missions upto STS 75. Though it does cover the development and specifications of the shuttle so well. This will just create another section in the next edition like the Challenger section.
I had a plastic model of Challenger at the time of the accident. I wish I still had it.
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I just heard that it could have been a meteorite, but then that was going to be brought up eventually as a theory at least.