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I was looking forward to the Shuttle launch this afternoon but the launch was (expectedly?) called off at the last minute, well not literally. But in space travel time, it was almost last minute because the crew was already aboard the orbiter. It must have been disappointing for them because I can understand how difficult it can be to not go when you have been gearing up for the moment for the past six months. It can be weirdly compared when you wish you had some more time to study before an all-important exam and when the exam is actually postponed, you wish that you had just gone through with it instead of sitting around twiddling your thumbs because you honestly cannot study any more than you have. Of course, it makes no sense comparing a measly examination with something momentous like return to space after much-publicized accident.
The delay was attributed to anomalies in level of fuel in the exterior tank. Did someone scrimp due to high prices of gas lately? Of course not, they would rather go to space than us drive to the nearby supermarket in our gas-guzzling SUV. I hope whatever the problem is, it gets fixed soon because the launch window will expire on July 31st and not open until September. The launch seems to be riddled with small problems. Just a day before the launch, a protective cover fell off damaging the heat resistant tiles (failure of which was the cause of Columbia’s accident). The inclement weather also doesn’t seem to help as hurricanes line up to batter the southern coast.
But if you ask me, I am glad that the launch didn’t happen before all problems could be fixed. Safety of the crew should be and is central to the decision of the launch. When I visited Cape Canaveral, the guide emphasized that everything down to the last screw was checked almost 3-4 times prior giving “go” for launch. My dad had a relevant question as how anything could still go wrong. I just shrugged my shoulders and said, after all nothing is perfect and human error, no matter how intelligent the human is, can be a bitch. The last thing we need for space exploration is another accident due to human error. I wish the space explorers all the luck and hope they hang in there.
by Patrix | on Wednesday, July 13th, 2005 at 5:00 pm | 
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