Hey, this is my first positing in hab1. Go me! Thank you Vincent for making me do this!
A friend of mine, a former camper (summer 2000), sent me an email written by Wayne Hale of Johnson Space Center on the subject of risk. It is an excellent read, well worth the three pages, and it almost brought me to tears! If you'd like to read it, go here.
Wow, that was a very insightful letter. Thank you very much for sharing it.
My favourite part comes near the end:
Life is full of gray choices. Deciding the work completed is good enough because more will not make it perfect. Ten thousand gray choices; doing what we must do, and not a bit more because that would take away from other work that is absolutely critical to be done right. When we have done what we can do, when we have driven the risk to the lowest practical level where it can be driven, then we have to accept the fact that it is time to make a decision and move on. Because history is waiting for us. But history will not wait forever, and it will judge us mercilessly if we fail to face tough choices and move ahead.
Risk is a part of everyone's daily lives, and those who think it does not exist are at bigger risk than anyone else. It is a wonder to me why people do things to put themselves in more unnecessary risk, like speeding on the motorway. In a way, the letter reminds us to appreciate everything in life. Well said Mr. Hale!
Enough of my rambling... it is time for me to get back to work.
PS - dctalk5827, does your nickname have anything to do with the musical group dc Talk?
Everybody knows that there are ultimate risks in space flight. Some among us believe so strongly in the benefits that they put their lives on the line. Others of us believe so strongly that we do something harder to live with: we send our colleagues into danger. Why should we do it? Because the consequences of not taking the risk are unthinkable. The choice of turning back and giving up would affect the rest of history in ways that are immeasurable. Somebody recently said that what we are engaged in is like high stakes poker. That comment trivializes space flight to a parlor game where the only risk is money or pride or career or other cheap consideration. To push back the frontier incurs a price that sometimes must be paid in a currency more dear than mere dollars. It takes courage.
now i liked that part......it reminded me of something gus grissom said "the conquest of space is worth the risk of life"
On a related note, I was glad to hear today that the U.S. Academy of Sciences recommended to NASA that Hubble be serviced by the Shuttle instead of robotically, saying that NASA and the nation are aware of and accept the risks inherent in any spaceflight, whether to the ISS or not. Yaaaay for recognizing that the public thinks the risk is worth it!
I think it says something that with accidents and all, there are quite a number of us who wouldn't hesitate to turn our mock astronaut experiences into real ones!
Welcome, dctalk! And thanks for sharing the essay...gives a great insight into being part of the space program!
yeah, its like people dont seem to get that there has never been an accident with the shuttle that ended in death that actually took place in space. so no matter if they go service the hubble or they go to the station or to the moon, the problems with leaving the atmosphere and returning to earth are STILL THE SAME!!!!
(*~*) megan (*~*)
it's a time to seize the moment.
it's a time to move on.
Carrie wrote:On a related note, I was glad to hear today that the U.S. Academy of Sciences recommended to NASA that Hubble be serviced by the Shuttle instead of robotically, saying that NASA and the nation are aware of and accept the risks inherent in any spaceflight, whether to the ISS or not. Yaaaay for recognizing that the public thinks the risk is worth it!
Though I agree that the risk of spaceflight is acceptable, I believe that the robotic Hubble Servicing Mission shouldn't be discarded as merely a way to avoid putting astronauts in danger. This mission, along with the DART and Orbital Express missions, will be testing the limits of our robotics expertise and will allow us to gain experience with unmanned missions, so that they can be much more versatile in the future. This can result in huge cost savings if satellites can be serviced autonomously in orbit instead of being replaced when they fail.
On another note, does anyone know why the HST was launched with no deorbit capability?
Ha, i freaked out because I realized that 2005 is the year i finish high school!
ASA Xmas Camp 05 (last one )
ASA 12-day July 05
ASA 8-day Xmas Camp 04
ASA 8-day July 04
ASA June 04
ASA March 04
ASA Xmas Camp 03
ASA July 03
ASA March 03
ASA Xmas Camp 02
ASA Xmas Camp 01
SA 00
AC Mach II 99
SA 98
SC 97
ASA Xmas Camp 05 (last one )
ASA 12-day July 05
ASA 8-day Xmas Camp 04
ASA 8-day July 04
ASA June 04
ASA March 04
ASA Xmas Camp 03
ASA July 03
ASA March 03
ASA Xmas Camp 02
ASA Xmas Camp 01
SA 00
AC Mach II 99
SA 98
SC 97
Except for the fact that we did not really celebrate the new year...but yeah i cant believe that this time next year i will be in college with new friends...the future is always terrifying as i hate change but i guess its inevitable
Andy
Space Camp 1999
Space Academy 2000
ASA - Von Braun 2002
ASA - Oberth Week # 42 2003
ASA 8-Day - Atlantis Week # 41 2004:
ASA 8-Day - Xmas Camp Atlantis 2004
ASA Xmas Camp 05 (last one )
ASA 12-day July 05
ASA 8-day Xmas Camp 04
ASA 8-day July 04
ASA June 04
ASA March 04
ASA Xmas Camp 03
ASA July 03
ASA March 03
ASA Xmas Camp 02
ASA Xmas Camp 01
SA 00
AC Mach II 99
SA 98
SC 97
I guess it makes the world a much more interesting place...I got a chance to read the letter, (dctalk5827's) and I was very moved by it....Everyone i guess faces risk in their lives but how a person manages that risk is what determines their character...very moving.
Andy
Space Camp 1999
Space Academy 2000
ASA - Von Braun 2002
ASA - Oberth Week # 42 2003
ASA 8-Day - Atlantis Week # 41 2004:
ASA 8-Day - Xmas Camp Atlantis 2004
n_lasouris wrote:
Though I agree that the risk of spaceflight is acceptable, I believe that the robotic Hubble Servicing Mission shouldn't be discarded as merely a way to avoid putting astronauts in danger. This mission, along with the DART and Orbital Express missions, will be testing the limits of our robotics expertise and will allow us to gain experience with unmanned missions, so that they can be much more versatile in the future. This can result in huge cost savings if satellites can be serviced autonomously in orbit instead of being replaced when they fail.
You do have a point there; we would learn a lot. It seems to me, though, that since we already have a successful way of performing these missions (with astronauts), it would make more sense to come up with robotic handling options for future missions that don't have a repair method of any kind yet. Maybe there's not an upcoming mission that would provide the same kind of opportunity to learn as Hubble would, but I can't imagine that being the case?
It looks like the robotic mission for Hubble may well go ahead, regardless, since NASA signed an agreement to have the Canadian robotics company (MacDonald Dettwiler, was it?) start drafting a plan...
Carrie wrote:It looks like the robotic mission for Hubble may well go ahead, regardless, since NASA signed an agreement to have the Canadian robotics company (MacDonald Dettwiler, was it?) start drafting a plan...
NASA already came out with a basic plan last March or April. That's when the Mission Concept Review went through, and since then Lockheed and MDA have been working on fleshing out the mission. About a week ago MDA officially got the contract for the robotic component of the mission.
Go me! Thank you Vincent for making me do this! 
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