Have you ever imagined what it would be like to stop your car Flintstone-style, with your feet? This is similar to what those astronauts are doing as I write. They've begun the entry, using only friction to slow them down. I wonder what they are feeling right now, knowing as they do what happened the last time a shuttle reentered our atmosphere. Raising their fear another notch most certainly must be the fact that the darn foam broke off again during the takeoff, the very thing that doomed the last crew. All the while, they've got to sport a calm countenance and try to replace their fear with faith that nothing will go wrong.
Something we do every day, that. Because each day presents us a whole gamut of possibilities, including the ultimate possibility - death. Most of the time we wade through our activities, aware and cautious about dangers, but assuming that nothing terrible will happen. Negative things do happen along the way, but death is usually escaped - that is until it's not. Perhaps fear let's us live longer in a way, but a case could be argued that a life spent in fear is no life at all.
They'll be landing in 17 minutes, so now is that really bad part where they can't communicate with the ground, a ball of friction fire obstructing their view. This is when they are thinking about their families and friends, God. They might be wondering if suspending their fear was such a good idea. They might be regretting unfinished business.
As the nation watches, breathless, hoping and praying for their safe return I can't help wonder why we are so interested in the lives of these nine people, while we easily bypass news stories of soldier deaths, famine deaths and the like right here on the ground. After all, they are just facing the day like all of us.
Hey look, someone just got hit by a bus.
There was a great article in this week's edition of The Week. We shouldn't be sending people out there right now when we have robots who can do the same for much less money and risk.
ReplyDeleteEach trip has cost NASA 100 times what was projected, and what has it achieved?
Not saying we should scrap the whole program, but where should our money go?
And we watch this breathlessly because it's so unusual, not because anyone else's death or danger is less important.