[Ima Lurker]

She failed to enter a computer command before releasing the Spartan Satellite causing it to malfunction and ruined the Spartan mission. She then tried to retrieve it with the robot arm, but pushed it further away instead. Two other astronauts had to go out and catch it by hand. This happened in 1997.

This does not make her a terrorist, but I can't help but wonder if she were a white male if she would have been given a second chance. And no, I am not a white male.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Y aknow what? Maybe you need to actually know something about it before you pen your mouth... lots of 'white males' have screwed up during space missions, and they seem to have been sent back up for more missions...

Humans are humans - they all make mistakes. No one is perfect.

Deal with it.

[Mamzelle]

re: but I can't help but wonder if she were a white male if she would have been given a second chance. And no, I am not a white male. )))

This just goes on and on! I'll be happy to tell you the names of several white male astronauts who made worse mistakes and got a second chance. Only, not now. And, no, I am not a while male, either.

I'm also willing to bet that when the astronaut was given the opportunity to go fix the problem, he didn't say, "Oh, Heck." He said "Oh, Boy!!"

[Catspaw]

This does not make her a terrorist, but I can't help but wonder if she were a white male if she would have been given a second chance.

You may want to check out Gus Grissom, most definitely a white male, who was given a second chance after his space capsule sunk. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollo204/zorn/grissom.htm

[Karsus]

Thank you. It makes it difficult to follow sometimes when people don't explain what they are saying. It also doesn't help that I am rather shaken up by the events of today. It was a hell of a way to wake up this morning...Our front door was open about an inch with a heavy object behind it and when the shockwave hit it sounded like the door was going to fly off the hinges.

Sorry if I sounded short in my last message. It was not intentional.

Thanks again.

[Dave S]

This does not make her a terrorist, but I can't help but wonder if she were a white male if she would have been given a second chance.

Ever here of Gus Grissom? He was one of the original Mercury astronauts. He was the second American in space. He was a white male. His capsule sank when the hatch door blew inexplicibly early. Many accused him of panicking and blowing the hatch. He said he did not. NASA later made him the commander of the first Apollo flight to the moon. Unfortunately, he and his crew died in a fire on the launch pad 36 years ago this week.

Also ever here of Alan Sheppard? First American in space. After his flight he was found to have a heart murmer which booted him out of the program. He was later allowed to become part of the Apollo program and eventually flew to the moon.