Am I the only one who finds it a bit odd that after spending 1 Billion dollars (yes, Billion with a "B") NASA had to resort to using DUCT TAPE to further fix the shuttle? Duct Tape might be fine for a leaky pipe or to repair a box or something, but the shuttle?
Can you imagine that conversation?
"Houston, we have a problem."
"Just slap some duct tape on it!"
These guys are going to be entering the earth's atmosphere at like a gajillion miles an hour and they are counting on duct tape to keep them from becoming human briquettes. I'm not making this up either. I've attached the article below for you to see for yourself.
In all seriousness, I really feel that we should be praying for the entire Crew and even those in the re-entry path on the ground. I really hope that we don't have another tragedy! If the Shuttle makes it safely (which NASA expects) I can honestly say that my already high appreciation of Duct Tape will get even higher.
Employing the kind of NASA ingenuity seen during Apollo 13, an astronaut prepped for an emergency repair job Wednesday on Discovery's exterior with forceps, scissors and a hacksaw fashioned out of a blade and a little duct tape.Stephen Robinson's mission was to remove two short pieces of filler material that were sticking out of the shuttle's belly. NASA feared the material could lead to a repeat of the 2003 Columbia tragedy during Discovery's re-entry next week.He could simply pull the stiff fabric out with gloved hands. If a gentle tug did not work, he was to pull a little harder with forceps. And if that didn't work, he was supposed to use a hacksaw put together in orbit with a deliberately bent blade, plastic ties, Velcro and the handyman's favorite all-purpose fix-it: duct tape. (photo credit: NASA TV)
Thursday, August 04, 2005
1 Billion Dollars. (and a Roll of Duct Tape)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Joel! I was going to post on exactly the same subject, but you beat me to it!
Thats okay, I think this post is a lot funnier than mine would have been. Plus, you make a good point about praying for the shuttle and crew.
As I recall - and it's been a few years, so I could easily stand corrected - it was duct tape that held together the makeshift filter that saved the lives of the astronauts of Apollo 13 ....
One of the early astronauts said it was somewhat discomforting to think he was sitting on top of 30,000 gallons of rocket fuel, about to be part of a controlled explosion, in a ship put together by the lowest bidder...
Or something like that...
Ah Greg,,,that line was from Armageddon...of course it may have been a repeat.
Duct tape and safety pins hold together a large portion of this nation....
Post a Comment