In an age of routine flights and technological advances, the
explosion of the Columbia space shuttle Saturday hit a nation that
felt immune to accidents with new fears about space
exploration.
Manned missions into space allow for scientific experiments
physically impossible to conduct on Earth, and also to work on the
international space station and the recent repairs on the Hubble
telescope ““ which has resulted in great strides in space
exploration.
The likelihood of an accident is relatively small; there have
been only three major accidents out of hundreds of space
missions.
But Saturday’s tragedy served as a painful reminder that
no discoveries come without great risks.
President Bush assured Americans the “journey into space
will go on” in the aftermath of the accident, but many others
are questioning whether the dangers of space exploration outweigh
its benefits.
“They do these experiments and there is a lot to be
learned form this,” mechanical and aerospace engineering
professor Anne Karagozian said. “But can you put a price on
human life? I don’t think anyone could offer a good balance
there.”
The crew members on the Columbia space shuttle conducted a wide
range of scientific experiments, including construction techniques,
work on fire suppression and biomedical research, according to the
mission overview on the NASA Web site. Experiments conducted in
space usually require low gravity and the results are then applied
for improving life on earth.
But others question how vital the high-risk, expensive
explorations are for the majority of scientific experiments.
Though mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Ivan
Catton said he does not know enough about the Columbia mission to
comment directly on it, in general, he said, it is very difficult
to find experiments that can only be done in space.
Catton referred specifically to studies he worked on in the
mid-70s to find experiments that would be cost beneficial in space.
Out of several possible experiments, he only found two.
But regardless of the high costs, professors agree that the
dangers will not deter future astronauts from going on missions.
Even though accidents are rare, astronauts are well aware that they
occur.
“It’s a known risk,” said mechanical and
aerospace engineering professor David Okrent. “When you do
this, you know there is a chance that you lose shuttles and
people.”
The seven astronauts aboard Columbia prepared for several years
for the rigorous and weightless sixteen-day journey through
space.
Saturday’s accident will not deter Chris Bowman, a
fourth-year aerospace engineering student, from his desire to work
for an aerospace company after college.
“If anything, it will be much safer after this, just for
the learning experience that this will be,” Bowman said,
citing the increased research and technological changes that took
place after the Challenger spacecraft accident in 1986.