Ray9
Diamond Member
- Jul 19, 2016
- 2,707
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By the time you read this hopefully Captain Kirk will be back on the ground safe and sound.
I like William Shatner. My wife and I used to set up TV trays and watch him in the 70’s on our lunch hour When Star Trek went into syndication. Shatner’s developing interaction with Spock and the rest of his crewmates was a big part of the show. I hope all goes well for his trip into space because the risks are real, and the potential consequences are final.
If we Turn the clock back to 1986, we see that this is a publicity stunt much like NASA was trying to pull off back in the day. Millions of school children sat in front of TV screens in classrooms and gymnasiums when Christa McCauliffe, the “first teacher is space’, went on a death ride in a spectacular explosion that occurred one minute and thirteen seconds after launch. The launch had been delayed several times due to unusually chilly weather, but NASA bureaucrats prevailed over some engineers at the Morton Thiokol company that warned against the failure of O-rings joining the solid rocket boosters in frigid temperatures.
The children were spared the horrible drop McCauliffe, and her surviving mates experienced in the crew compartment that was almost certainly taped in real time with onboard cameras. The kids never saw the crew members’ last moments as they awaited the massive impact at terminal velocity with the ocean. The crew cabin was recovered from the ocean floor in the months after the crash and qualified experts have said that McCauliffe likely survived the first explosion and was conscious and aware until the end.
What America’s school children learned from the fiasco is anyone’s guess, but it is unlikely that the US educational system focused on the greed and incompetence that led to McCauliffe’s demise or the corruption of “experts” more interested in funding than anything else. No one blames those kids if they grew into cynical adults distrusting tax-financed government projects. McCauliffe’s bid for fame and fortune came to an ignominious end and no one will ever know if she had any idea what was happening in the shadows.
William Shatner is 90, Mccauliffe was 37. Shatner has lived a good life and he is doing this with full knowledge of the risks-good for him. We all know and love him. Shatner will ride private enterprise, Mccauliffe trusted the government and all that that has come to imply. We all hope Shatner goes up and comes down safely but nothing worth doing is worth it without risk. Shatner is trusting experts that will work together for success and take responsibility for a bad outcome. McCauliffe did not have that luxury. Hopefully the people know that.
Ged speed, William Shatner.
I like William Shatner. My wife and I used to set up TV trays and watch him in the 70’s on our lunch hour When Star Trek went into syndication. Shatner’s developing interaction with Spock and the rest of his crewmates was a big part of the show. I hope all goes well for his trip into space because the risks are real, and the potential consequences are final.
If we Turn the clock back to 1986, we see that this is a publicity stunt much like NASA was trying to pull off back in the day. Millions of school children sat in front of TV screens in classrooms and gymnasiums when Christa McCauliffe, the “first teacher is space’, went on a death ride in a spectacular explosion that occurred one minute and thirteen seconds after launch. The launch had been delayed several times due to unusually chilly weather, but NASA bureaucrats prevailed over some engineers at the Morton Thiokol company that warned against the failure of O-rings joining the solid rocket boosters in frigid temperatures.
The children were spared the horrible drop McCauliffe, and her surviving mates experienced in the crew compartment that was almost certainly taped in real time with onboard cameras. The kids never saw the crew members’ last moments as they awaited the massive impact at terminal velocity with the ocean. The crew cabin was recovered from the ocean floor in the months after the crash and qualified experts have said that McCauliffe likely survived the first explosion and was conscious and aware until the end.
What America’s school children learned from the fiasco is anyone’s guess, but it is unlikely that the US educational system focused on the greed and incompetence that led to McCauliffe’s demise or the corruption of “experts” more interested in funding than anything else. No one blames those kids if they grew into cynical adults distrusting tax-financed government projects. McCauliffe’s bid for fame and fortune came to an ignominious end and no one will ever know if she had any idea what was happening in the shadows.
William Shatner is 90, Mccauliffe was 37. Shatner has lived a good life and he is doing this with full knowledge of the risks-good for him. We all know and love him. Shatner will ride private enterprise, Mccauliffe trusted the government and all that that has come to imply. We all hope Shatner goes up and comes down safely but nothing worth doing is worth it without risk. Shatner is trusting experts that will work together for success and take responsibility for a bad outcome. McCauliffe did not have that luxury. Hopefully the people know that.
Ged speed, William Shatner.
