NASA: Astronaut Hurt in Bicycle Accident

Associated Press ^ | Sun Jan 16, 2011

[anymouse]

NASA officials say an astronaut who had been slated for a spacewalk on the upcoming shuttle mission has been hurt in a bicycle accident.

The space agency said in a release late Saturday that Tim Kopra will be OK. But officials are still evaluating if he'll be able to perform his duties when the shuttle Discovery launches to the International Space Station on Feb. 24.

(snip)

The 47-year-old Kopra lives in Houston and is a retired Army colonel. He was one of two astronauts scheduled to go on a spacewalk during Discovery's mission to the space station.

[anymouse]

NASA can't catch a break. Hopefully Col Kopra recovers quickly.

[wastedyears]

I’ve been in numerous bike accidents, all of them my own fault. Never put me out of commission for more than an hour or two.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

This mission sounds like bad luck.

[Domestic Church]

Maybe he really doen’t want to go.

[omega4179]

The fuel tank is clearly a problem and they will not disassemble the problem and replace it with something that is not a problem.

[mamelukesabre]

you’ve never had a bad one. I had one that took me 3 years to recover from. Broken nose, cheekbones, upper jawbone, and neck. I’ve still got some minor nerve issues in my neck that cause my arms to go numb once in awhile. I also still have no feeling in three teeth and part of my upper lip.

[libstripper]

That’s one hell of an accident. In 1988 I had a serious mogtorcycle accident on the Richard Russell Parkway in GA when I got a speed wobble at 65 mph that sent the bike and me in two different directions and destroyed the bike. Fortunately, I was wearing a heavy Army field jacket and a full face helmet, causing me only to suffer some severe road rash and a broken wrist that still looks a bit different than it did before it was customized. Since then I’v never touched another motorcycle.

[SonOfDarkSkies]

I had a bad spill on New Year's eve day a few weeks ago. Hit a piece of buckled pavement which sent me airborne onto the shoulder where I broke several ribs and punctured/collapsed a lung. I spent the next five days in the hospital draining fluid from my lung.

Still hurts like h$ll but am improving daily.

BTW I am/was a serious cyclist, riding at least an hour a day for over 25 years...used to compete in triathlons. Looks like those days are behind me now.

My doc told me I was lucky...so yeah, cycling accidents can be serious bidness.

[SERKIT]

Never say space travel is so common it’s like riding a bike.

[Johnny B.]

There were several sources saying that he may have broken a hip. If that's true, I would assume that he won't be flying into space soon (if ever).

I hope he wasn't hurt seriously, and that this won't impact the launch.

[mamelukesabre]

Bicycles are actually more dangerous than motorcycles. I used ride both, but after my accident I gave up bicycles. A bicycle is more easily upset by road hazards and takes more coordination, faster reflexes, and much more precise control to keep it going the direction you intend to go.

[SonOfDarkSkies]

Yep. I think my hard riding career is officially over. I’ll stick to spin classes from now on out.

[Domestic Church]

That would be a good enough reason for me to inadvertently twitch and subconsciously through my balance off while riding a bike...Survival!

[A.A. Cunningham]

Those training wheels help.

[sionnsar]

I’ve been in numerous bike accidents, all of them my own fault. Never put me out of commission for more than an hour or two.

My accidents were small too, though one quite destroyed the bike.

Had a co-worker nearly taken out by a driver who turned left into an intersection he was traversing and plowed into him. It took him months to recover.

[sasquatch]

Good thing he wasn’t riding a Challanger or Columbia.

[wastedyears]

I’ve flipped over handlebars before. Wasn’t fun.

[libstripper]

The thing about bicycles many people don’t realize is that it’s often possible to reach motorcycle speeds on one. In any such case an accident can be far more harmful than a motorcycle accident at the same speed, if only becaue the motorcycle rider can often be wearing far heavier personal protective gear, like a full face helmet and leathers.

[jetson]

The thing about bicycles many people don’t realize is that it’s often possible to reach motorcycle speeds on one. In any such case an accident can be far more harmful than a motorcycle accident at the same speed, if only becaue the motorcycle rider can often be wearing far heavier personal protective gear, like a full face helmet and leathers.

My nephew had a helmet and knocked his front teeth out on the handle bars. I've been in three accidents. All three was from another bike or motorcycle cutting in front of me and my flipping over the bars all three times. Landed on my head twice ( no helmet) and have broken ribs one time, displaced ribs from my back bone once and just had body bruises the third time. All on pavement. Hitting concrete or pavement going even 3 miles and hour can mess you up.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

How far the space program has fallen! We bring the Apollo 13 astronauts back from the brink of disaster, and the modern NASA gets derailed by a bicycle...