Posted by Strictly Skewed at 199.199.216.61 on January 23, 2004 at 14:19:31:
In Reply to: Oh, but I'm serious. posted by Championship_Vinyl on January 23, 2004 at 13:45:36:
: Do you have any idea what it takes mentally, physically and emotionally to be an astronaut?
Physically? They sent an 80-year old man.
Mentally? They sent some rich guy who paid for it.
Emotionally? Okay, now we start to come to it.
: And you're insane if you think space travel is anything even remotely "safe," even with every available attempt to make it so.
Is it safe? No. Is is very dangerous? No.
: Granted, the word 'hero' is thrown around a little too liberally these days, I totally give you that. But at the same time, you're one crazy-brave motherfucker if you get anywhere near a space shuttle in flight and live to tell about it.
Why crazy? There are lots of jobs that are similarly dangerous. Look at the injury/death rates of policemen, firefighters, soldiers, etc. And yet we make *so* much about astronauts. I would give *both* my nuts for the opportunity to go up into space, under *much* less safe conditions. Do you realize how competitive it is to be an astronaut? Why is that? Are there that many crazy-brave motherfuckers out there? No.
Are astronauts doing what they do for society's sake, the way policemen and such do? Some, although for most of them it's for personal reasons, like mine.
Don't get me wrong, the first astronauts were heroic. But then again, the risks they took were much greater, and the purpose they fulfilled was much more important. Also, I think the current batch of astronauts are capable and willing to meet this challenge, but we as a society do not seem to be.