Shuttle issues

[pukku]

So, I'm not entirely certain what to think about the loss of Columbia.
When I first heard about it, I had three reactions: 1) I felt sorry for the families of the astronauts, 2) I worried that this would be used as an excuse to hurt the NASA programs, and 3) I felt upset that the current administration felt the need to state that this wasn't likely to be an act of terrorism, which I felt to be self-evident.
I worry about NASA -- it seems to me that NASA is one of our great accomplishments. It has its problems, true, but still, NASA has achieved many great things, with effects far beyond space missions. But I don't think that people realize how large an effect NASA (and the space programs of other countries) has on their life. So I'm worried what the fallout of this will be.
I was also upset that the USA Government felt the need to say "this was probably not an act of terrorism". To me, that is self-evident. However, Ania disagrees -- she thinks that it was a smart move, given that there was an Israeli astronaut aboard. She may be right. It still vaguely upsets me that we think we need to say this.
One last thought, which is rather sick/dark: why is it that both Shuttle accidents have occured when there was someone aboard who wasn't an American astronaut?

Comments

I think it was sneaky

[(Anonymous)]

its bree...

I think it was sneaky attempt to make everything about terrorism.
but tahts just me. I have very little faith in the government

from Ania

[(Anonymous)]

I think it was more likely damage control on the part of the government (though I also have little trust in the government). There was a lot of pre-launch hype about the fact that there was an Israeli astronaut aboard, and a lot of extra security in response to his presence, which he appreciated. Remembering this, one of the first thoughts that came to my mind when I heard about the accident was "oh my god, people are going to say this was an act of terrorism, and use it as another excuse to start a war". Mind you, I did not actually believe that this was the case, I was concerned with what people would spin it into. (My father on the other hand, misinterpreted my concerns and now believes me to be a paranoid who sees terrorists around every other bush...)

Ricky, the reason there has always been an international astronaut during the accidents is probably because there is OFTEN an international astronaut on the missions. It has to do with that most-of-the-world-doesn't-have-rockets-and-we-do phenomenon.