[ale] OT: Space Shuttle Columbia

[Transam]

On Sat, Feb 01, 2003 at 07:47:41AM -0700, Joe wrote:
> Jeff Hubbs <hbbs at attbi.com> writes:

> > I guess no one else has mentioned it so I figure I should...

> > This morning at about 9AM, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on
> > reentry over central Texas.  Multiple video recordings show several
> > portions of the spacecraft.  No survivors are expected.

> I cried when I heard the news. I vividly remember Challenger, and I
> didn't expect to see the loss of a second orbiter in my lifetime - I
> really thought it'd have been replaced by something better by now,
> like Delta. Perhaps this will inspire us to revitalize our manned
> space program, and provide the funding necessary to do it right.

Throwing money at problems does not solving them.

Recall that the problem with Challenger was incompetent and arrogant
management that refused to believe the engineers who said:

  "If you launch at this low a temperature, there is a real possibility
  that the O rings will fail and the shuttle and astronauts will be lost."

I watched a number of companies go bankrupt (or loose millions) because
of management failing to listen to their technical experts.

The Challenger disaster also was due to questionable bidding procedures
where an inferior design required O rings while a competing price-competitive
bid did not.

Of course, it is far too early to speculate on what caused the Columbia
disaster.  Let us not just start talking about just throwing money at it.

> Unfortunately, without some serious competition in that arena, it
> doesn't seem likely. This might actually herald the end of the US's
> manned spaceflight program.

> A sad, sad day.

Yes.

> -- Joe Knapka

Bob Toxen
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