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Originally Posted by SANguru
My question for you, Juan is are YOU willing to fly on the shuttle knowing that the something's going fall out and you have a high chance of burning up during re-entry given a flawed/fragile design?
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Yup! I would be. In a heartbeat. Would not even think twice.
Look, space travel has NEVER been without danger. There WILL be some folks who die. This has been the case from Day One, not just isolated to the Space Shuttle. You're acting as though these astronauts are being forced to go up there. They are lining up to go. They know it's dangerous, but it's their passion. Not unlike race car drivers, they know that every time they climb in that vehicle, it could be their last ride, but they are willing to accept that risk.
Again, I pose the question: can ANYONE else do it better or safer than we can? The Russians certainly cann't. The Europeans also have a Space Agency, and they can't (or won't) do it either.
For those of you who think we NASA has not contributed anything since the 1960s, let me give you a small list of inventions that were either a DIRECT invention of NASA or that came about as a result of NASA research:
- Kidney dialysis machines
- CAT Scans
- Cardiovascular exercise machines
- Hospital food service systems (allows for the food to be cooked and kept warm well after it's been cooked)
- Insulation barriers used in cars (for the engine bay)
- Water purification systems
- MRI technology
- "Cool suits" currently used by race car drivers
- Bar coding
- Satellite technology
- Ear thermometers
- Cordless tools
- The vision screening system we (glass-wearers) use
- Fire fighter equipment (both the suit and oxygen tank improvements)
- Smoke detectors
- Those aerodymanic bycicle wheels used by the dope-taking cyclists in the Tour de France
- Shock-absorving helmets (think football and motorcycle helmets)
- Even joystick controllers
You get the point.
Any doubts that we should support this organization?
Juan