Posted on 07/27/2005 1:35:08 PM PDT by CHARLITE
America held its breath Tuesday morning. Twice, it had seen what could happen when 4.5 million pounds is hurled skyward by 7.4 million pounds of thrust to achieve an orbit of the earth and then shed that energy for a safe, passenger-jet speed landing.
Twice it had grieved. The Challenger lift off explosion in 1986 and the Columbia re-entry disaster of 2003 had taken 14 lives of men and women who had placed them in the hands of technology only to learn its implacable cruelty. Would the shuttle Discovery somehow redeem that trust?
In a world where headlines are made by fanatic cowards whose aim is random death, seven brave men and women strapped themselves into a cockpit measuring some 25 cubic feet, waited two hours for a clock to finally reach zero and, weighing three times their normal earth weight, allowed themselves to be projected beyond the realm of homo sapiens at more than 17,000 miles an hour.
O brave new world! (borrowed). Hardly noted but worth a mention is the fact that the Commander of this mission is named Eileen. And among those she commands is a Wendy.
A first-day goodnight message from the crew took note of the preceding doomed flight of Columbia. Cdr. Eileen Collins mentioned each of the seven crew members by first name and said, "we miss them and we are continuing their mission."
The contrast between the Discovery event and those other craven acts delineates itself. Will we press on, or be drawn back into shadow? The mere posing of the question answers it. The bravery of this shuttle crew and those who flew before insists on it.
(Excerpt) Read more at aim.org ...
bttt
"Craven acts"?
Nevermind! I read the actual article, I didn't realize it was an excerpt. It read very strangely.
3'x3'x3' = 27 cubic feet. Methinks the number is somewhat small.
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