Picture of Challenger courtesy of Marian Doss, Astronaut, Via Flikr
Welcome to Afternoon Latte, a little something to keep you going through the end of the day.
I was not sure how I felt when I read today that the Smithsonian is thinking of displaying wreckage from both the Challenger and Columbia Shuttles. On the one hand theses the artifacts of the deaths of 14 people, on the other they are a significant part of the history of manned space flight.
Space.com is reporting that the Air and Space Museum is creating a new exhibit called “Moving Beyond Earth” and they intend to deal with the details of the loss of both of the Space Shuttles. For those who might have forgotten, the Challenger was lost on take off when an O-ring on the right side solid booster failed due to low temperatures. This allowed the hot gas to pass through and ruin the structural integrity of the giant external fuel tank. At that point there was a massive explosion and the Orbiter was ripped apart from aerodynamic forces.
Columbia was lost during reentry. One of the wings had sustained damage form insulating foam falling off of the external fuel tank. The ablative tiles, which burn off at a controlled rate and prevent heat from entering the body of the Shuttle, had been damaged on the left side wing. As the Shuttle began its descent into the atmosphere these tiles began to fail and break away from the wing. This allowed super hot gas (2000 degree plus) to enter the wing. The Shuttle computers started making stronger and stronger calls on the hydraulics to bank the Shuttle in the S maneuver that slows it down. Eventually the damage to the wing was too great and the Shuttle tumbled and broke up in the sky over Texas.
These two of the three greatest losses of life in the history of the Manned Space program. The thing is that the astronauts knew the risks they faced. The Shuttles that we have were never intended to be the work-horses they have become. The initial order of Shuttles was supposed to be the test bed group, and a production Shuttle would be produced from what was learned from them.
They took the risks gladly, after all who wouldn’t to go to space? So their deaths was tragic and perhaps preventable were still heroic and should be celebrated as the efforts of pioneers to bring about a new frontier for the human species. From that point of view seeing the actual wreckage of the Shuttles along with the explanation of why the craft are in pieces makes sense.
But something still bugs me about it. Would we want to see the Apollo One capsule where Gus Grisom and his crew burned to death during a “Plugs Out” test in an atmosphere of pure oxygen? There a spark and the oxygen atmosphere ignited the Velcro in the capsule and the door which opened inward could not be opened from the vastly increased pressure of both the test and the fire. That accident is part of our space history too, but there is something gruesome about the idea of seeing the burnt out capsule where three brave men died.
In the end I come down on the side of displaying the wreckage. It is what it is, it is the place where our astronauts died, but it is not at all prurient to look at it. We can honor their sacrifice by understanding the end of their lives in detail.
What do you think Kossacks? Is this honoring the sacrifices of brave people or just a way to bring "if it bleeds it leads" to the Air and Space Museum?
The floor is yours.