From: Michael M. Butler (mmb@spies.com)
Date: Sat Feb 01 2003 - 12:31:42 MST
Adrian Tymes wrote:
> The shuttles
> are still, fundamentally, aging machines that are ever more expensive to
> maintain and operate. They needed to have been replaced a long time
> ago. Stuff like this will happen again if NASA maintains its present
> course, instead of actually funding replacements* for the space shuttle
> - and cutting off contractors that have failed in that project before
> and have every financial reason to fail again if it'll sop up all of
> NASA's resources on that project.
snippage
> BTW, don't accuse me of being insensitive here. One of the mission
> specialists was a personal friend of my dad, and I had to comfort him.
> Angry that NASA's mismanagement of replacement programs has allowed this
> malfunction to happen, perhaps, but not insensitive.
Is "insensitive" the same thing as "numb"? I ask because...
There's a way of training pilots (including some fine ones) that helps me
at times like these.
Reviuew and rehearsal of contingencies is done so that the cognitive (and as much
as possible, the gut) reaction isn't "What the FSCK?!", but rather "There it goes...".
I slept late today. When I read the news (on extro), my first thought was
"There it goes...". Not that that makes me special--but I don't think I'll
be getting a migraine today, the way I did when we lost Challenger. That loss,
and the subsequent bad behavior of NASA, has provided much insulation.
Access to space needs to change. I very much doubt NASA has the capability to
do much about that. The organization has many of the characteristics of high-
functioning autism, and I ought to know what that looks like. :|
MMB, going back to operating within my sphere of influence for a while...
PS: I'm numb at the moment. But I know that under that I could make myself
*furious* about how little real progress we've made. It's _2003_, for Pete's sake!
A single vehicle shouldn't make up a double-digit percentage of the fleet--
we ought to have /airline numbers/ of 'em by now! Hire more Russians, damn it.
Take *more* chances, cheaper.
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