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[QUOTE]Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: [QB] I was watching Peter Jennings on ABC during lunch early this afternoon. He interviewed a few people in Washington about the possible reactions... basically it boils down to (1) immediately start work on a Space Shuttle replacement, or (2) abandon the manned space program. The shuttles haven't been the most efficient system, but as pointed out, a 2-in-113 failure rate for such a massive program in which so many things can go wrong is extraordinary. Despite the fact that two of the five space shuttles that have made it into space have been lost, I am more than certain that NASA has done everything humanly possible to ensure that the flights are as safe as they can make it. But as we've seen, space travel at this stage can never be routine. Even in the world of "Star Trek," it's never completely routine. I can only hope that this disaster gives everyone the motivation to learn from the mistakes and push forward rather than to pull back and abandon manned space travel completely. I barely remember the [i]Challenger[/i] disaster in 1986 (I wasn't even 5 years old at the time), but I do remember the big deal when it took [i]three whole years[/i] to resume shuttle flights, and the huge relief when the next shuttle launched successfully. I sincerely hope that nothing like that happens this time. As I'm typing, CNN is airing the NASA press conference and Colonel Bill Reedy, a space shuttle veteran is emphasizing NASA's position about keeping the program going. I only hope that the various Congressmen don't react to this by cutting funding. I won't suggest increasing funding because I know what kind of problem that would involve, especially in the context of the other problems the country (and the world) are facing... but we have come to far to pull back now. The courage and heroism of people like John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, not to mention the three men killed in the fire aboard [i]Apollo 1[/i] and the seven men and women aboard [i]Challenger[/i] would mean [b]nothing[/b] if we simply abandon the goal that they gave their lives in attempting to reach. "We will find the cause, we will fix it, and we will move on." -- NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe "Risk is our business. That's what this starship is about. That's why we're aboard her." -- Captain James Kirk [/QB][/QUOTE]
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