Model Forum / General / Rockets / January 2004

Here's some brief thoughts I sent to some newsgroups I'm on Tuesday
night (the timing is relevant to the writing of the piece).  Take them
for what they're worth...

David Erbas-White

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In Remembrance of the Future

Well, it's that time of year again...

It's been 37 years since Apollo 1 burned on the pad, during a pre-flight
test.  We lost Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee in that one.  To
this day I think there continues to be plenty of soul-searching, but
fortunately the loss of these three heros led to a revamping of the
Apollo Command Module, that in all probability allowed us to actually
reach the moon -- and without further loss of life.

In one more day it will be 18 years since the Challenger disaster, where
7 brave souls were lost just moments after their flight began.  As with
JFK's death, I think everyone knows where they were when they first
heard about Challenger.  In that one, we lost Michael Smith, Dick
Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis,
and Christa McAuliffe.  I have very mixed feelings about Challenger, and
I don't know if I can put them into words, but I'll try.  I can
understand 'go fever', even as I condemn it.  I was glad that a
"non-astronaut" was going aboard, a teacher named Christa McAuliffe, but
I was mortified that the shuttle's safety record was forever marred on
THIS flight.  I cried for the astronauts, for their families whose joy
was soaring with their loved ones dreams, only to be cast into despair
in less time than it took to take a breath.  And Richard Feynman,
already a titan, rose even higher with his simple yet devastating
challenges to the cause of the system failure.

In just a few more days, on Sunday morning, it will be 1 year since we
lost Columbia, on what was to all intents and purposes a 'routine'
mission, when everything seemed safe, and even the worries about one of
the largest foam strikes every seen to a shuttle were being played
down.  They were lost during reentry, and as with Challenger, I both
cried for them, and wondered how horrible those last seconds must have
been.  Here, we lost Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson,
David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon.  In many
ways, this was the worst of the three tragedies for me.  Part of this
was the pure unexpectedness of it, because we've gotten so complacent
over the years about re-entry.  Part of it was the fear that this might
be related to terrorism, in this post 9/11 world.  Part of it was the
fear that having lost a second shuttle, that America would stand down
its space program, as we no longer seem to be the nation of risk-taking
individuals that MADE this nation.  One of the things that quelled those
fears was seeing the immense strength of character in the families of
the Columbia crew -- without exception, they said that we MUST move on
in space exploration.

As I think about the crews of these three missions, I'm struck be
something that I've never really pondered before.  Even though all three
missions could, conceivably, have been prevented, man isn't perfect, and
mistakes will be made.  Each loss that these missions forced on us, also
forced a re-evaluation of the what and how of space exploration, and
helped to perfect it for the future.  And frankly, that is evident by
the tragedies themselves.  Apollo 1 didn't even make it to launch.  
Challenger was still on its way to orbit.  But Columbia was almost home.

As horrific as each of these events was, they demonstrate the progress
that has been made over the decades.  The first one was pre mission, the
second was beginning of mission, the third was end of mission.  We are
moving forward.  We've been paying the price, but we're moving forward.  
Now that we have a new mission, that of a lunar base and Mars
exploration, I think it's about damned time we honor the memories of all
of these fallen astronauts by moving towards the future, strongly and
with purpose.  Not forgetting them, by any means, but by bringing their
memories along for the ride.