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Eyes on the Cape
My good friend Toni sent me this; it's from Ron Casewll, who works in NASA. He puts out these Eyes on the Cape Reports on http://www.eyesonthecape.com/ and I thought that other people might want to see the one the fall of Columbia:
Eyes On The Cape Report #66, “The Will to Continue,” Ron Caswell, February 1, 2003
The loss of Space Shuttle Columbia and crew today is very sad, and must not be lost in vane. It is apparent the world’s prayers are with the crew, their families, and with my fellow space community. Thank you. This great nation has the strength, the ability, and the will to continue the aspirations of Space Shuttle Columbia’s crew!
A few days ago I was blessed to observe a moment of silence at the Apollo 1 launch pad with Astronaut Grissom’s family. Astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee perished in the Apollo 1 capsule fire at 6:31 pm., January 27th, 1967 at Cape Canaveral Launch Pad 34. The plaque at Pad 34 reads: “They gave their lives in service to their country in the ongoing exploration of mankind’s final frontier. Remember them not for how they died but for those ideals for which they lived.” God bless the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger and all other fallen space flyers too. Memorial services are a celebration of the contributions given by all explorers. My job and those in the Space Program stand on the shoulders of these brave people. We have the responsibility to continue the quest of adding to mankind’s knowledge.
If mankind were not to do explore, we would not have been given the ability to wonder and the ability to act upon these wonders. We are given the wonderful gift of curiosity, which leads to exploration and discovery, but historically comes with risk. We do have the will to continue manned space exploration. We will not stumble from today!!
The cameras of Voyager-1 on Feb. 14, 1990, took a series of pictures of the sun and the planets, making the first ever "portrait" of our solar system as seen from the outside. Voyager-1 took this 60-frame mosaic of the inner solar system from approximately 4 billion miles away.
Earth is such a small planet in the Milky Way Universe. The Milky Way Universe is just an average galaxy in the billions of known galaxies. People are made mostly of carbon, and carbon is the 4th most abundant element in the universe. The other elements that life is made from are also abundant in the universe. There are more questions than answers about our purpose and place in the universe. Today’s students will discover things my generation never even dreamed of. We also need to learn to be one with each other, and one with our environment. One certainty is that we need to be good to ourselves and to one another. I am thankful for Earth’s protection from the harsh conditions of space.
Today NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe said: "… We trust the prayers of the Nation will be with them and with their families. A more courageous group of people you could not have hoped to know- an extraordinary group of astronauts who gave their lives-and the families of these crewmembers. They knew exactly the risks. And never, ever did we want to see a circumstance in which this could happen. We diligently dedicate ourselves every single day to assuring these things don't occur. And when they do we have to act responsibly, accountably and that is exactly what we will do."
The world’s space programs are the best investment mankind has in itself. NASA’s budget is less than 1% of the nations budget, a great investment value. Every aspect of our life is affected from the lessons learned through space research. These lessons teach us about technology, ourselves (i.e. modern medicine), mother Earth, and the universe. It is exciting to live in this time of great discovery! We must continue manned space flight!!
Many space discoveries are made through manned space flight. China is a believer in manned space flight and this year will join Russia and the United States with a manned space program. Discoveries will be made with a balance of manned and unmanned spacecraft.
We will be diligent to get beyond today’s tragedy. United we stand and strong are then we. Thank you Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson , Kalpana Chawla , David Brown Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon for all that you have given us. We will remember you for those ideals for which you lived. The world is better from your contributions.
The Clementine spacecraft took the above image as it flew over the north lunar pole at the completion of mapping orbit 102 on March 13, 1994. NSSDC Photo Gallery: Earth
Tonight the crewmembers of the International Space Station are safe and have enough supplies to stay on-orbit until late June. If necessary they can return to earth in their docked Soyuz capsule. We can send a replacement crew to the International Space Station in another Soyuz if necessary. The station crew is also devastated by today’s events but they are determined to carry on their work. I’ve been blessed and directly involved in the launch processing of the current space station crew’s Soyuz landing gear. All crews are precious.
I am thankful and proud of the Nations Space program. We will find and fix the cause of today’s accident. May we fly Space Shuttles again soon and complete the construction of the International Space Station. When we do, much will be gained in making life better on Earth!
Truly, Ron
Eyes On The Cape Report #66, “The Will to Continue,” Ron Caswell, February 1, 2003
The loss of Space Shuttle Columbia and crew today is very sad, and must not be lost in vane. It is apparent the world’s prayers are with the crew, their families, and with my fellow space community. Thank you. This great nation has the strength, the ability, and the will to continue the aspirations of Space Shuttle Columbia’s crew!
A few days ago I was blessed to observe a moment of silence at the Apollo 1 launch pad with Astronaut Grissom’s family. Astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee perished in the Apollo 1 capsule fire at 6:31 pm., January 27th, 1967 at Cape Canaveral Launch Pad 34. The plaque at Pad 34 reads: “They gave their lives in service to their country in the ongoing exploration of mankind’s final frontier. Remember them not for how they died but for those ideals for which they lived.” God bless the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger and all other fallen space flyers too. Memorial services are a celebration of the contributions given by all explorers. My job and those in the Space Program stand on the shoulders of these brave people. We have the responsibility to continue the quest of adding to mankind’s knowledge.
If mankind were not to do explore, we would not have been given the ability to wonder and the ability to act upon these wonders. We are given the wonderful gift of curiosity, which leads to exploration and discovery, but historically comes with risk. We do have the will to continue manned space exploration. We will not stumble from today!!
The cameras of Voyager-1 on Feb. 14, 1990, took a series of pictures of the sun and the planets, making the first ever "portrait" of our solar system as seen from the outside. Voyager-1 took this 60-frame mosaic of the inner solar system from approximately 4 billion miles away.
Earth is such a small planet in the Milky Way Universe. The Milky Way Universe is just an average galaxy in the billions of known galaxies. People are made mostly of carbon, and carbon is the 4th most abundant element in the universe. The other elements that life is made from are also abundant in the universe. There are more questions than answers about our purpose and place in the universe. Today’s students will discover things my generation never even dreamed of. We also need to learn to be one with each other, and one with our environment. One certainty is that we need to be good to ourselves and to one another. I am thankful for Earth’s protection from the harsh conditions of space.
Today NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe said: "… We trust the prayers of the Nation will be with them and with their families. A more courageous group of people you could not have hoped to know- an extraordinary group of astronauts who gave their lives-and the families of these crewmembers. They knew exactly the risks. And never, ever did we want to see a circumstance in which this could happen. We diligently dedicate ourselves every single day to assuring these things don't occur. And when they do we have to act responsibly, accountably and that is exactly what we will do."
The world’s space programs are the best investment mankind has in itself. NASA’s budget is less than 1% of the nations budget, a great investment value. Every aspect of our life is affected from the lessons learned through space research. These lessons teach us about technology, ourselves (i.e. modern medicine), mother Earth, and the universe. It is exciting to live in this time of great discovery! We must continue manned space flight!!
Many space discoveries are made through manned space flight. China is a believer in manned space flight and this year will join Russia and the United States with a manned space program. Discoveries will be made with a balance of manned and unmanned spacecraft.
We will be diligent to get beyond today’s tragedy. United we stand and strong are then we. Thank you Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson , Kalpana Chawla , David Brown Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon for all that you have given us. We will remember you for those ideals for which you lived. The world is better from your contributions.
The Clementine spacecraft took the above image as it flew over the north lunar pole at the completion of mapping orbit 102 on March 13, 1994. NSSDC Photo Gallery: Earth
Tonight the crewmembers of the International Space Station are safe and have enough supplies to stay on-orbit until late June. If necessary they can return to earth in their docked Soyuz capsule. We can send a replacement crew to the International Space Station in another Soyuz if necessary. The station crew is also devastated by today’s events but they are determined to carry on their work. I’ve been blessed and directly involved in the launch processing of the current space station crew’s Soyuz landing gear. All crews are precious.
I am thankful and proud of the Nations Space program. We will find and fix the cause of today’s accident. May we fly Space Shuttles again soon and complete the construction of the International Space Station. When we do, much will be gained in making life better on Earth!
Truly, Ron