[ale] OT: Space Shuttle Columbia

[Jeff Hubbs]

On Wed, 2003-02-05 at 15:49, Jonathan Rickman wrote:
> On 4 Feb 2003, Jeff Hubbs wrote:
> > > Can't dock at the ISS. Can't just fire up Atlantis
> > > and send them a ride. They took their chances and lost. That's life on the
> > > edge. The same thing happens in military aviation, just on a much smaller
> > > scale. You put your fate in the hands of the Almighty and do your job as
> > > ordered.
> >
> > I'm not sure of your point.  This was not a military mission nor was it
> > an all-military crew.
> 
> 
> You quite obviously missed the point. I never said it was a military
> mission. Where you got that is beyond me. The point is, some jobs are
> dangerous. That's just the way it is.

You said "[generic you] do your job as ordered."  The Shuttle astronauts
were not operating under anything near that kind of social contract, yet
you seem to be drawing a parallel that they were "following orders" just
like soldiers.  Unlike in a combat situation, there's a certain
understanding the astronauts hold that NASA and its contractors are
taking steps to protect them from huge risks (not COMPLETELY, of course,
but at least to the extent that KNOWN PROBLEMS are acknowledged and
ameliorated).  A picture to the contrary appears to be emerging, just as
it did with Challenger.

Do you think for a second that if one of the seven astronauts walking up
to the gantry elevator just suddenly stopped and said, "that's it - I'm
not going up.  There are problems that aren't fixed to my satisfaction,"
that he'd be escorted into the Orbiter and strapped into his seat?  Or
court-martialed?  Someone check me on this, but I don't think that ANY
NASA astronauts on space flights who were active military were UNDER
ORDERS to complete their flights, nor do I think they undertook them in
as part of their military duties (except for perhaps the classified
Shuttle flights).



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