My understanding is that the shuttles are so old that some of the tooling is no longer around. They have trouble getting the computers serviced because they are ancient and even their media is hard to find. I'd sure like to see a new machine flying. There are some great concepts for them but no one will out with the cash to build them. Maybe this tragedy will be the 'pin that impelled the steel'. That would be a fitting tribute. Build a brand-new ssto rocketship and name it 'Columbia'. Regards, Jeff -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Al Hartman Sent: Sunday, February 02, 2003 12:31 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: Space Shuttle Disaster I believe that the Colombia had recently been totally refurbished stem to stern... New Avionics, new wiring, crew compartment, the works... NASA is trying to upgrade and extend the life of the Shuttle fleet rather than pushing for a replacement. I think it's time an X Program or two were undertaken to create an SSTO replacement for the shuttle. Check out Jerry Pournelle's Site http://www.jerrypournelle.com (and if you like it, please become a member... Let's encourage good work like his..), for some cogent discussions of this issue... All sorts of wacky stuff is flying around about the cause. Someone sent me an e-mail about a terrorist with a laser weapon... Geez! What bugs me about it, beyond the obvious... Is that Islamic Extremests will take this disaster and interpret it to mean that God has spoken against the U.S. and Israel, and that this disaster is an omen. Let's wait and see, but I'm sure many in that crowd were jumping with glee over this, and taking this as a sign that "Allah" was on their side. A sad interpretation of a Sadder event. I'd like to see Burt Rutan on an X Project to develop a replacement for the shuttle. I'd bet if anyone could do it, he could get something cheaper and better developed in a few years easily... And the temporary solution is to build a few more new shuttles and ground the older ones. It's obvious to me, that age and metal stress played some part in this disaster, and it's probably better to ground the current fleet and fly all new machines until replacements can be designed, tested and built... Al

On Sun, 2 Feb 2003, Al Hartman wrote: One (anyone, especially religious folk) cannot ignore the stark symbolism surrounding the whole event. It is what it is. I didn't hear any news of anyone "jumping with glee" over it. I'm certainly not jumping with glee over it, but then, I'm not an extremist either. You brought it up :\ Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *