Conference 7.286::space

Where can this program guide be requested from? I am a PTA member and would
like to assure this opportunity is looked at for the school I represent.
Any information would be helpful.

Carl

Is Christa McAuliffe really the "first private citizen in space" (as WBZ
and Ronald Regan, among others, refer to her)?

I seem to recall that on a few space shuttle flights private companies had
bought space for a proprietary experiment (in one case related to fabricating
drugs in weightlessness) and sent along an engineer to operate the experiment.
These engineers were not NASA or government employees, and were not trained
astronauts, or legislators, but rather employees of corporations. 

Wouldn't they be considered "private citizens"?  At least I tend to think
of engineers employed by corporations as "private citizens" (I am one :-).

In fact, their way was not paid by the government, but Christa's is being
paid by government funds.  And Christa is a government employee (Concord
public schools).

I don't want to detract from this event -- and teachers have even less prestige
with the general public than engineers -- but I think the administration's
language in this case is very inaccurate.

Bob Fleischer

P.S.  Actually, I'm trying to think of a reason for DEC to buy Shuttle time and
put the first programmer in space.  I think I've got the line.  Note that
manufacturers are interested in growing crystals and alloying metals in space
because the weightless condition should produce materials with fewer flaws than
production on earth.  Well, it just seems obvious to me that we need an
experiment to produce software in a weightless state in order to see if it has
fewer flaws and defects than software produced on earth. Think of the pay-off
if this succeeds!  To do this experiment we need an ordinary citizen-programmer
in space. 

P.P.S.  Why does DECspell try to replace NASA with NAUSEA?

:-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-)
I thought programmers ALWAYS produced software in a weightless environment!
:-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-):-) :-) :-) :-)


					:-) :-) :-) :-) Rick :-) :-) :-) :-)

 
  McDonnell Douglas has had an engineer in the shuttle several times from
what I hear, so he might fall under your classification.  But he was in the
employ of a company project funded by the government and was being paid,
so technically, he's not 'functioning' as a private citizen.  The teacher
is an out-of-the-blue citizen who has no relationship to NASA, the military
or the government.

John

re: .2 P.P.S.

Maybe your problem with DECspell is that NASA is really an abbreviation for
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Will DECspell still
complain if it is abbreviated as N.A.S.A. which is the proper abbreviation.

George Stevens :-)

I was under the impression that at least one of those weightless fabrication
experiments was not government funded at all and that the results were
proprietary -- not public.  On the other hand, if the same McDonnell Douglas
employee went repeatedly, then he clearly is a "professional (though private)
astronaut" (as opposed to sending up whatever project engineer is appropriate
to the experiment).

Just trying to boost the public image of engineers.

Actually, there might be a reason to conduct software usability (human
factors) testing in space.  Back when I worked for Martin Marietta, we sure did
enough simulated testing of space human factors -- it sure would be nice to see
if the experiments were repeatable in space!  I can see it all now -- an
experiment in high-level graphics programming in weightlessness called 
"PHIGS in Space". 

Bob Fleischer

P.S.  Back when I worked at M-M, my office was next to the Titan factory.
It was a good place to take visitors for a cheap but impressive tour! 

re .5:

Actually, DECspell will still complain about N.A.S.A. -- it doesn't
automatically pass words with embedded periods.  But it won't try to
replace it with NAUSEA -- not close enough.

In retrospect, it can be said that Christa did go on the ultimate field trip.



                            GOODBY CHRISTA GOODBY

                              WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

AE

I'm a Christian, and I do believe that God brings good out of even the worst
situations (and the world has seen a lot worse things).  No, I'm not saying
that God "willed" the accident (please don't debate this here -- it could
take over 3000 years to resolve).

But the presence of the "ordinary citizen" on the Shuttle changed the impact of
failure just as much -- and probably more -- as it would have changed the
impact of a successful mission.  We all learned a lot about life as a result of
this tragedy.  We learned about the fallibility of human endeavors -- even when
you've taken all the care you can, and I believe NASA is probably one of the
most carefully conducted human organizations ever, you still have the
possibility of failure.  

Many times when I've prayed during the last week I've asked the question "Why
THIS mission? Why couldn't the failure have been a last-second abort, a
sea-ditch, with life preserved?  Why couldn't it have been some earlier mission
when we (the public) still understood that there were risks in the Shuttle? 
We still would have tasted failure and our frailty.  It isn't fair!" 

We've also re-learned that exploration -- of any kind -- has always taken
its toll of human life.  

When else in the history of this earth have an entire nation seen the death
of a loved one through the eyes of a husband, son, daughter, father, mother,
and sister?  Not in retrospect, but as it actually happened?  I think that
many of the instant critics who say that a mother with young children shouldn't
go into space are not so much worried about those children as about what
this kind of situation does to US.  It wrenches the heart.

I hope that we've learned respect for such risks, but not fear.

Bob Fleischer

P.S.  From what I've read, Christa was no "ordinary" citizen.  I think that
this mission, even in failure, has brought teaching and education to a
prominence it requires.  It will inspire some teachers.

Part of Christa's plan, to keep a journal, was inspired by the journals
that pioneers often kept as they journeyed the seas or crossed the continent.
A lot of people died on those early crossings.  We are just as much children
of those who died as we are children of those who made it all the way.

Article: 13477
From: [email protected] (Julie Bixby)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: "A Journal for Christa" to be published in September
Date: 2 Apr 1993 21:17:35 -0800
Organization: Coast Community College District, Costa Mesa, CA
 
The March 15, 1993 issue of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY reports that Christa
McAuliffe's mother, Grace George Corrigan, will be writing a book
about her daughter and the family's experiences with NASA.  The
University of Nebraska Press plans a 10,000 copy first printing of 
the book, "with special sales pending to organizations whose concerns
parallel those of McAuliffe's." They also hope to have Mrs. Corrigan
appear on "Oprah" to plug the $22.50 book. 
-- 
Julie Bixby                        Internet: [email protected]
Engage Romulan .sig cloaking device....

    	Christa McAuliffe will be profiled on cable's A&E Biography 
    program on Monday, July 11, at 8 p.m. EDT.