The same here.....

The Space Shuttle Orbiter list for the United States is as follows....
[list=1][*]Columbia (first in orbit and lost to day tragically)[*]Enterprise (never entered orbit, used as a test bed/hulk)[*]Challenger (17th anniversary was 4 days ago)[*]Atlantis[*]Discovery[*]Endeavor[/list=1]

The Russian space shuttles are probably not as safe (I don't want to come off as prejudiced but its due to the nature of their economy) and long gone.

I know this maybe off topic but S.P.A.M. has talked live with Captain Dan Bursch while he was on board the ISS at the time last spring.

Also I would like to add and more importantly......

"Due to today's tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia on her 28th mission in service of her country, I have proposed in honor of her 7 astronaut crew members that we place the mission patch of Space Transportation System Flight 107 on our T-Shirts. With Warren Boudreaux's suggestion (he is also our team leader), I plan on placing two patches on on this year's robot at both the port and starboard shoulder joints. It has been a sad day for all of us who's dreams take us beyond the stars and I must say in their honor and memory we continue our quest of achieving our dreams and goals." - M. Lee

Yes, I just quoted myself (and made a few changes) but I also happened to be sending this in a e-mail to the Adult Mentors (Engineers in particular) on S.P.A.M. to inform them of this.

With My Deepest Sympathy to the families and friends of All 7 Astronauts,

Michael R. Lee
Palm City, Florida
International Baccalaureate Senior
South Fork High School
U.S. F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition Team 180, S.P.A.M.;
International Summit of Young Technology Leaders 2002 (YTL Summit) Network Delegate

On behalf of Team 180, our condolences and prayers to the families of the seven courageous astronauts of the space shuttle Columbia. They paid the ultimate price for advancing man into space.

My heart sank when I heard the news. It brought back memories of the other fateful morning in January. My hope is that this will not deter others to follow their footsteps as the Challenger's tragedy did not stop these astronauts.


Patricia Chen
Teacher/Mentor

On behalf of Team 448, I would like to extend our deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones in the Columbia accident, especially those mentors from NASA sponsored teams that lost their colleagues in this tragedy. As FIRST members are quite possibly the future of this nation's space program, among other endeavors, I believe that by continuing the mission of FIRST, we can, in someway, pay tribute to those who lost their lives today.

On one of the other threads, someone proposed that each FIRST team could somehow incorporate the STS-107 mission patch into their robot detail, or in their team apparel. I think this idea is worth some thought.

I, too, wish to offer my condolences, small comfort though they must be to those who lost their loved ones. FIRST owes a huge debt to NASA, even those who aren't directly sponsored by them. I hope that there is a memorial at all the regionals and Nationals to honor these brave astronauts. They lived what some of us dream to, and died in the advancement of science. There can be no greater tribute to their memories than that we continue to follow their footsteps and be as willing as they to give our lives. So, on behalf of Team 341, I wish to offer our condolences and heartfelt sympathy. May their families' grief be assuaged by the sharing.

stacia
team 341
wissahickon high school
ambler pa

On behalf of team 350 I would like to offer my condolences to all who are connected with this tradegy, especially the familes

Even though this is a very tragic incident, I think what is sadder is what is to come. Mainly the jokes. I am putting no effort into making up nor passing on jokes I may hear about the event, but I can garuntee some will arise. I hope they don't show up on these boards though and doubt they will.

A strange thing occured today, although I wasn't too surprised. Someone decided to make fun of the event saying a piece of debris landed in his yard and he was trying to sell it on ebay. To avoid legal reprecussions he stated that he can't garuntee it's an actual piece. The whole thing was basically a humorous stunt (by this I mean it was done with intent of humor, but wasn't funny) stunt to advertise a quake chatroom.

Thankfully, the good people that browse ebay destroyed the auction. Some reported it's fradulence, others bid as high as they could making the cost over $99 Million. Those two actions by many people had ebay remove the auction from bidding and others remotely like it.

It's a shame that people will be trying to profit off of this tradgedy by selling legitamte items "in memory of" the lost astronauts at exageratted prices. Why is it that people can profit off tragedy?

(If anyone cares to see an archived version of the page mentioned: http://www.jgumby.com/columbia-ebay/ )

I'm deeply saddened by the loss of seven of humanities noblest explorers. They risk everything purely for the sake of research and exploration. All such explorers deserve a special place in all our thoughts, especially when they make the ultimate sacrifice.
Though they are bold and able to take these risks, I think we, the American people, have a duty to lessen the risks we ask astronauts to take. We ask the risk for the greatest of causes, but to ask so much from so few seems unfair. I think the greatest show of appreciation for the heroes lost today would come from a general acknowledgment by the public of the nobility of their cause, expressed though a general push to make spaceflight safer.
The shuttle fleet is aging. Even though they are well within their designed operational lifetime, the base of technology that they are founded on is more than 20 years old. We have tried before to develop a new, full scale orbiter, designed with new technology to dramatically reduce the risk of catastrophic failure in all stages of a mission, the best example being the X-33 / VentureStar system, but tax dollars dried up when technical challenges required more funding to be resolved. We will not stop exploring, but considering this loss, it seems grossly unfair that we ask continuing generations of explorers to take the same risk, when it may be in our power to design a much safer system. The public needs to end its ambivalence, acknowledge the importance of the spirit of exploration, and zealously support the development of a new system. Only with the pressure of the public will the government be willing to fund such an endeavor. But his is not about money, it's about exploration, and science. With the tragedy now, I think we, and the general public also, realize how close those two things are to our hearts. I truly hope the public decides to appreciate this crew, and all such crews of explorers that will come.

After WWII my father went to work for NASA before it was called NASA. I was born in Hampton, Va. As a small child, I was allowed to stay up late one night to listen to Sputnik. I watched all the Mercury launches (one from the Cape.) I stared at the TV as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. I cried when the Challenger crashed.

My prayers go out to the families of those seven brave people as well as all of NASA. Team 64 will join the other FIRST teams in honoring the memory of STS 107.

"I used to sit in the shade of an old cedar tree. I would dream of the days and what they were holding for me. But all those should know who gaze at the ski, it is you who are wise...it is you who are wise." The Kingston Trio

Ken Loyd
Team 64

Here is an article from 2001 that may put this in perspective.
http://www.space.com/news/shuttle_budget_010907.html
I'm proud to say it's one of our senators from Florida speaking out on the issue (Although more likely he is motivated by the many ways Florida benefits from Kennedy Space Center.)

I'm also sad to say that despite attending the KSC regionals I never got a chance to meet Dave Brown. I would really have liked to have met him. It is sad that their death will be used as ammunition against the space program. There are many people who feel the space program is a waste of time and money, and will jump on this like vultures. People who risk their lives (and lose them) for our benefit should feel safe in the knowledge that we will honor their memory by continuing their work. We owe the crew of Challenger to redouble our efforts to explore space.

I would also like to offer my condolenses to the crew and family and everyone regarding the Columbia STS107 Space Shuttle Mission. You'll be in my prayers.

I like this idea of doing something w/ the NASA Logo or the STS-107 Logo, I hope our team will put it on our robot.

This has been a hard day, stay strong everyone.

Lost for words................. What can you say? What is there to say...? Same feeling came back to me i havd on 9/11 .. Is there a sign of hope of the future.? you tell me....

suck a tragedy..

my condolences to the seven nasa families who witnessed this horrible accident.
after 2 horrible incidents between the challenger and columbia it safe to say that old equipment should be replaced rather then just upgrading it.

Yesterday's events were tragic and terrible. Dave Brown had attended many FIRST competitions, and was an oustanding individual, everyone who gets to be an astronaut is outstanding, and the all accept the risks. I believe they all accept those risks and would rather go into space and perish, as not go. Most of you are too young to remember the Challenger first hand, but I believe that event was much more shocking to the National psyche. One effect of the Challenger disaster was to suspend the "Teacher in Space" program. Sadly, NASA had just announced the resumption of this program.

The systems to get humans into space and back again are extremely complex. The smallest fault or oversight can cause a cascading failure. This was the case in all the previous NASA accidents, and most likely was the cause of yesterday's accident.
Part of NASA mission is to educate and to inspire the next generation of explorers. I like to think about what JFK said when he started NASA, which was:

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win...."

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Team 151 send condolences to the friends and families of the seven astronauts, This is quite the Tragic Event for all of us. This may sound like all the other posts, but honsestly I cant think of anything else to say...God Bless All

The Russians are known for their ability to do a lot with very little.
Their Soyuz Capsule is just as reliable as the space shuttle. It may be a bit dated, but it's tried and true.