Random switching of channels on cable, and stop to watch something on NatGeo. Nothing about the program looks interesting, a narrator, some old men in different scenes talking. Then I hear two words and I know immediately what it is and there is no way I was switching.
O Rings
Only one topic will have a bunch of officials, engineers, a NatGeo program mentioning
O-rings........ thats the component that failed during the Challenger Shuttle launch. I have never ever, seen a single program about that disaster that doesn't reduce me to tears. No other event even comes close.
This program was about the people who made the choices to allow the launch that day ( January 27 1986). The people at Morton Thiokol knew it was too cold to launch. They pleaded with Nasa officials to scrub the launch. But in the end it was a business idea. The managers knew it, the engineers knew it. You could see the regret and hurt in their faces in the interview. They knew that money rules the world and could say nothing more to change the officials minds. A poorly acted, staged, re-enactment had to the saddest thing I've seen in a long while. Wow.. that was kinda surprising to me.
Funny how something that only took the lives of 7 people saddens me to that extent. Yeah yeah, all the natural phenomena ( i refuse to call them disasters) that result in loss of life is sad, wars, protests, accidents...they should have more of an impact, but no, Challenger beats them, even Columbia wasn't that sad. I think I'm really naive when it comes to it, but the outreach of science of an amazing thing. Mankind showing that they can do something good is an amazing thing.
Ignoring the ugliness of business and co-orporate interference, two things are guaranteed to make my heart soar for mankind( and surely tears) ....... Anything with space exploration and the Olympics.
ahhhh I think I have my first topic for the Geekdom page.... Challenger...... ohhh tomorrow is gonna be a long type hehe
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