Space travel is risky business
The United States space program suffered yet another major blow Saturday when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated while re-entering earth's atmosphere.
The disaster happened after what had been labeled as a near-perfect 16-day mission. The astronauts were just minutes from landing when the tragedy occurred.
So close, but yet so far.
The tragedy serves as a reminder of something we've known for a long time — space travel is risky business.
We tend to forget that because these missions usually go off without a hitch. Statistically, astronauts are more likely to die during an automobile accident here on earth than they are during a space mission. But no matter, when there's a problem during a space mission, the result is usually fatal.
Saturday's events bring fresh memories of the 1986 Challenger disaster to mind where the astronauts aboard — including the woman who was to be the first teacher in space — all perished in an explosion soon after lift-off.
With all the successes over the years, perhaps some don't remember that dismal failure was the norm for the space program in its early years. Forty some years ago, rocket after rocket exploded on the launch pad before a successful liftoff ever took place.
If at first you don't succeed
Finally, success came with the successful launching of a chimp in space, followed by the first manned rocket, culminating on placing a man on the moon. In recent years, extended stays on the space station are the norm.
But along with the successes came failures. Older people remember when the Apollo 1 astronauts perished in a fire on the launch pad in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, tragedy was averted when Apollo 13 was brought safely back to earth by the combined efforts of NASA's ingenuity and sheer luck following an explosion en-route to the moon.
The movie, Apollo 13, is especially poignant now with its gripping portrayal of what would happen to the ship if the heat shields (tiles) on the outside of the command module were to fail when re-entering the earth's atmosphere.
The tiles didn't fail Apollo 13, but if early reports are correct they failed Columbia Saturday morning. If speculation is right, falling insulation at the very beginning of the mission — during liftoff — damaged the tiles.
The disaster happens at a bad time for our nation. With fears of an almost-certain war, and the growing threat of domestic terrorism, it's a reminder that even the cutting edge of technology can be foiled by sheer luck and a simple piece of falling insulation.
— KATHY HAGEMAN
