Re: NASA

Message posted by Andre' M. Dall'au on February 19, 2000 at 06:49:29 EST:

Years before the Challenger disaster NASA engineers that were friends of mine were complaining of a "Launch on time or we'll find people who can" attitude. The disaster was somewhat predictable. The contractors were telling NASA exactly what NASA wanted to hear, and made a fine scapegoat. The full story of the events leading up to the explosion casts the whole contractor/NASA team as interested only in production, and naysayers - even right ones - were considered to be non-team players. Apparently the "New NASA" may have more realistic expectations on safety, but still places too much emphasis on schedule. Originally the "best and the brightest" worked for the space program. When the liberals killed the Kennedy-inspired spacerace, no serious engineer or professional wanted to make Space a career. I remember when The Cape and Cocoa Beach was THE place to be for Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I also remember after the death of the real space program, the depression-like blight that covered that part of Florida. Nobody working for NASA now would ever match the selfless engineers and scientists that got a man on the moon years before they should have. Yes, revamping the whole program would help, but a national commitment similar to the 60's initiative that would dedicate some of our national wealth towards serious Space exploration, and manned Space travel, is the only way the "best and the brightest" would ever consider recommitting to the cause.