Astronaut Diaries

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dragon04

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Remembering the Columbia Shuttle Crew<br /><br />This program aired on the Science Channel tonight. While I'm not altogether sure that this is the appropriate Forum for this post, it seemed to land here.<br /><br />I almost didn't watch the program. Maybe I'm "Shuttled to death". Or maybe it was my disagreement with the continuation of the STS program post Columbia. Maybe somewhere in the dusty corners of my subconscious, I was somehow afraid to watch it.<br /><br />First-time astronaut Dave Brown wanted to make films. He wanted to document his experience from initial training to the conclusion of STS 107's mission.<br /><br />The viewer got to see inside the mission. The things one normally doesn't see on TV. Viewers were given the opportunity to know 7 men and women who became a team to complete a mission. We peeked into the mundane. <br /><br />No bias, no blame. Just the lives of 7 of us over a 2 year time span. The lives of 7 <b> people </b> just like us. Only with a big time job.<br /><br />We tend to think of astronauts in general, and those who have lost their lives in particular as "heroes". As well we should. But it never really occurred to me, much to my discomfort that those "heroes" are real people. They have names, families, hopes, dreams and desires just like the rest of us. They're Mike. And Dave. And Laurel.<br /><br />They go climb a mountain as part of their training and eat bad brownies. They get lost driving through Amsterdam like any other tourist. They have fun. They write email letters to their families. They keep diaries.<br /><br />They ride a bomb into space and are awed by the world below them. They goof off a little and do silly things in zero gee.<br /><br />They take big risks, do hard work and are professional in every way. They take their mission seriously.<br /><br />As the program concluded, I was left feeling like they were my neighbors, or brother or co-worker who did something great and then died doing it.<br /><br />Whether you are in favor of the S <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>
 
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CalliArcale

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I saw it when it first aired. It's a beautiful program.<br /><br />I also recommend the book "Comm Check". It was intended as the story of the investigation into the Columbia accident, but while the authors were doing their research, they found themselves getting into the lives of all those involved. As a consequence, while the book is still partly about the accident and the subsequent investigation, it is mostly about the people. It's very hard to put it down. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>
 
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