It was the first day of February. At Temple University, a former student shot his ex-girlfriend while she worked inside a campus administration building, later killing himself. The second death by avalanche in Montana this year occurred in the afternoon. Another injured person died from a medical supply factory explosion in North Carolina. So many things meaning so much occurred in so many different places, but this weekend, the nation grieved with the news that seven astronauts met their deaths as the space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames over Texas Saturday morning.
As Mission Control in Cape Canaveral, Florida, tried unceasingly to contact the space shuttle Columbia, the only response was infinite silence ending with a final loss of hope for the astronauts on board. "There was nothing we could do," a Mission Control official later commented. "Just observe." With heavy hearts and loss of expectation, the flag at the Kennedy Space Center was lowered to half-mast.
However, what is most problematic in the forthcoming investigations of the Columbia disaster -- they are expected to take weeks or even months to complete -- is the suggestion that experts in the field warned NASA about the effect of budget cuts on the safety concerns of the equipment and passengers. Many voiced concern about improper inspection and a lack of safety improvements for shuttles that have been in use for at the past ten years. The Washington Post reported that "aerospace engineers have repeatedly complained that belt-tightening and shifting priorities were denying Columbia and the three other shuttles the necessary upgrades and improvements ("Experts Warned Of Budget Cuts, Safety Concerns," the Washington Post, Feb. 2). So much for "safety first."
This was not the way things were supposed to happen at all, and it looks as though negligence has played a key factor in events. Richard Blomberg, former chairman of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel warned Congress in April that NASA had attracted "the strongest safety concern the panel has voiced" in over 15 years. Most of us have some recollection of the Challenger explosion, a revolutionary event in the safety of our NASA program, which occurred just two years before that time period. Blomberg stated then, "I have never been as worried for space shuttle safety as I am right now." Last Saturday may have been a repercussion of our government not heeding the concern of the Panel.
If so many experts are skeptical of NASA's claims to safety and concern, only those who have pushed these claims to the side can be held accountable for the death of seven inspiring people last weekend. The illusion of safety is not sufficient or acceptable for this country. In light of tragedy, so many preemptive warnings and statements are suddenly being "discovered" and "revealed" to the public when they should have been heeded before the Columbia ever took off. The shuttle Columbia is supposed to have been both outdated and under-funded from the beginning. Budget problems have prevented shuttles from having ejection capsules, an idea suggested for immediate implantation after the Challenger explosion 17 years ago. Plans have been made to extend the lifetime of shuttles beyond what was originally intended. This would not be problematic if the original construction of our space program's shuttles had not been retrospectively deemed to be substandard.
With so many theories and speculations, it is hard to say whether what happened on the Columbia could have been prevented. For the first time in history, a shuttle exploded during the landing. It should have been a successful mission.
In the past week alone, NASA has observed the anniversary of its only two other space tragedies, the Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986, and the Apollo spacecraft fire that killed three on Jan. 27, 1967. Now, the Columbia explosion will be forever marked in history on February 1, 2003.
Exploring the frontiers of space is well worth the sacrifice of life for many people, including those brave enough to engage in a mission with potential dangers. However, no one should ever have to lose their life unnecessarily.
Though this event is a shock in the hearts and minds of many Americans, we must only prepare and hope for the next entry into space. Perhaps more safety precautions will be taken. Perhaps we will sift the truth from the debris and take proactive steps and preventative measures for the future. Until then, we must honor the Columbia shuttle and those who so boldly went before in exploration. No event, no matter how tragic, can undermine their contribution.
(Amey Adkins' column appears Tuesdays in the Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at aadkins@cavalierdaily.com.)
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