"There will be risks, as there are in any experimental program, and sooner or later, inevitably,
we’re going to run head-on into the law of averages and lose somebody. I hope this never happens…
but if it does, I hope the American people won’t feel it’s too high a price to pay for our space program."
-Astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom, later killed in the Apollo 1 fire, January 27, 1967Yesterday, NASA had an agency wide day of remembrance for three disasters that have occurred in their space exploration.
-Apollo 1 in 1967: A fire broke out in the capsule, killing astronauts Gus Grisson, Ed White and Roger Chaffee
-The space shuttle Challenger in 1986: An O-ring failure caused the shuttle to explode after liftoff, killing astronauts Francis “Dick” Scobee, Ronald McNair, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis and Connecticut teacher Christa McAuliffe
-The Colombia shuttle in 2003: The shuttle broke apart during re-entry, killing astronaut Rick Husband; pilot Willie McCool; mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and David Brown; payload commander Michael Anderson; and payload specialist (and first Israeli astronaut) Ilan Ramon.
I have seen enough deaths in my work that it's something I feel keenly. Everything has a cost. Space exploration, like almost anything else, is not without it's risks. I have known too many brilliant men and women who's lives were lost in Starfleet, but nonetheless, I still believe that space programs are worth the time and money we put into them and the risks, however great, are worth it. I do hope that some day I get the chance to get back out there.
[Tony Stark MCU]Tell me what you need me to do for Starkfleet. I need things to keep me busy.
[Pavel Chekov]Do you have time for chess sometime soon? Would that be okay? Given everything.
[Dr. Crusher & Nurse Chapel] Can we step up my rehab? I want to be running by summer.