Quote:
Originally posted by FAKrogoth
I personally don't see any reason to complain about placing the American flag on any memorial images. It was an American shuttle, with American support, from an American agency. Just because an Israeli happened to be on it doesn't make it an Israeli mission.
Secondly, I must say I don't see how this was a highly significant event. Is a car accident significant? As far as I can tell, the only difference between the Columbia's explosion and some minivan totalling on the freeway barrier is the cost, and the fact that the participants were certainly aware of the risks. Statistically speaking, almost nobody watched the launch of STS-107. For the vast majority of the nation (and the world, with the possible exception of Israel) it was not significant until something went wrong. The crew of STS-107 did nothing of more importance than any other science crew in the Shuttle program, except for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Personally, if I were to post a memorial to a shuttle flight, it would be the one that repaired the Hubble. They at least accomplished a significant and noticeable goal. It was also much more of a technical challenge than any non-construction mission.
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First of all, it's not a memorial to the technical things that they did or did not accomplish. It's a memorial to the people who died Saturday. Show a little respect.
Secondly, you're looking at the whole American flag thing backwards. Just because it was an American shuttle with American support launched by an American agency doesn't mean that there wasn't an Israeli on board. Everything isn't dollars and cents. But that's beside the point. NASA was created for, is paid for by, and is largely composed of Americans, but what we do is meant to help the whole world.