Courage (Space Shuttle Columbia)

Eject!Eject!Eject! Weblog ^ | February 15th, 2003 | Bill Whittle

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

Thanks for the pings. I just haven't had a chance to read it yet. I don't want distractions when I get to this one.

[Lando Lincoln]

Very wise - this one is special. And....

Bump!

[Taxman]

It is truly worth 100% of your attention.

BTW, next time you are in WDC, if you stay in some far-off out-of-the-way hotel, I'll still give you a ride back, especially if you are wearing that exotic perfume.

[DoughtyOne]

Thank you for the ping. The article was a good read.

[MarketR]

bump

[Seeking the truth]

Thanks Tim...all I can say is "wow".

[StarFan]

A truly inspiring read.

[RadioAstronomer]

He had some fascinating stories to tell

How cool :-) I have two that you might like, true stories BTW:

1) As I think back over the years spent in control rooms some of the zanier thing we did come to mind. Oh it's not sending commands to a spacecraft or talking to astronauts in space, but the little things that made the day-to-day operations bearable. One of those things we did involved an initiation for the new kid on the block. This control center (actually every one I have ever been in is like this) had a raised floor. The consoles were the old NASA type and very large bundles of cables would snake down from them into the cableways beneath the engineer’s feet. This would leave a gap between the cables and the edge of the floor. First we would prime" the pump" so to speak. We would talk about all of the small animals and snakes that lived beneath the floor (actually there were none). After about two weeks and sufficient paranoia had set in, an engineer would sneak down under the floor, crawl to the hapless victims console and reach up through the cable hole wearing a big brown furry mitten and grab their ankle. The resulting fireworks were nothing less than spectacular!

2) One of the more interesting things we used to do was “dish rides.” We would climb into the dish and then an operator back in the control room would move the dish around. It was quite a ride at about 120 feet off the ground. My heart would flutter a bit as I walked around that dish (the metal was thin and it would give a little as I walked). If I let myself think about it too much, all I would think about was the steel and concrete 120 feet down underneath that thin metal. The dish antenna weighed more than 30 tons and the radome covering it was over 20 tons.

[RadioAstronomer]

LOL, I keep telling him that very same thing! :^)

I know! :-)

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks Jen.

Bump.

[Joe Hadenuf]

When PSA Flight 182 collided with a small plane over San Diego in 1978, and dove straight into the ground trailing fire from the wing, the last words on the Cockpit Voice Recorder was a calm, level, “Ma, I love you.”

Great shuttle story.

And I remember PSA, above, like it was yesterday. I think something similar was said with the Mexican airlines into Cerritos Cal.

[Taxman]

I remember PSA all to well -- several of my good FRiends were on that airplane, including the CO of my USNR hardware squadron (I was in the augment unit -- we flew their airplanes) who had been a shipmate and good FRiend on my first and second cruises in Kearsarge (CVS-33).

I have read a number of accounts of pilots' last words before they bought the farm -- "I love you mom" is the most prevalent, as I recall, followed closely by "Oh! Shit!"

Mostly, the voices are calm and level. Chuck Yeager's calm, level, under-control radio transmissions has exerted a powerful and long-lasting influence on the pilot "community" that is still pervasive. For some reason, we all want to sound like him, even when we are out of altitude, ideas and airspeed.

[Taxman]

LOL!

Like I said, you have the makings of a book. You have been a witness to the most exciting adventure man has ever succeeded in. Now, go write it!

[Joe Hadenuf]

Interesting post.

If I remember correctly, the phrase, "Oh shit" is spoken in more black box recording than any other phrase. Just thinking of the terror present in a PSA type event, is truly mind boggling and a glimpse into real professionalism of the rapidly approaching end.

[fnord]

bump

[Taxman]

My "final moments" are not something I have often dwelled upon. I hope I have the courage to not whine all the way down, and instead think of the good things in my life, all the while wrestling with the beast to avoid the sudden stop, of course!

First rule of aviation: Fly the damn airplane!

Course if all you are flying is a few pieces of airplane, then there are other considerations, and that is when I hope that I can go out honorably and without any fuss.

[RightOnline]

A fantastic piece........and any of us who went through the trials, tribulations, and utter bulls**t just for the privilege of wearing the wings of our country on our chest understand.

God rest your souls, crew of Columbia.

[united1000]

Oh thank you so very much for posting this, it's absolutely excellent----wow

[Taxman]

All "of us who went through the trials, tribulations, and utter bulls**t just for the privilege of wearing the wings of our country on our chest understand."

"God rest your souls, crew of Columbia."

Thanks for that thought. And thank you for your service to America.

[Interesting Times]

Excellent. Thanks...