Late Astronauts Fly In Space Without Medical Certificate

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
What is behind the bizarre practice of launching capsules containing
the burnt human remains of celebrities into space? Isn't this
ghoulish practice just a bit beneath the dignity of science?

Why should science and ceremony be mutually exclusive? Especially when the
ceremony is directed related to the science?

And what is so "ghoulish" about a burial? It's not like people are
sprinkling the ashes on their morning toast or something.

And why characterize the effort as being about "celebrities"? There's one
semi-famous guy, and almost a couple hundred people you never heard of.
Shoemaker is probably the next-most-famous guy on board this particular
flight (flights that have been going on for nearly eight years now), and
I'll bet less than 1% of a group of randomly selected people off the street
could tell you who he is.

And finally, just what about this story invokes "science" anyway? It
specifically says the remains will be launched "on-board a commercial
expendable rocket". As near as I can tell, the sole purpose is to get some
stuff into space (ashes of "more than 170 people", plus a spy satellite).

Not that I think it would be bad for a research mission to carry some ashes
along with it, but it doesn't appear that in this case "science" is relevant
except inasmuch as science allowed it to happen in the first place (which is
true of just about every Western burial practice today, to one extent or
another).

The best part is that the stuff in orbit doesn't remain there indefinitely.
Eventually, the orbit decays, and the dead guy becomes a meteorite. A quick
shooting star, and then they are truly "gone". There won't be any people
hundreds of years later getting upset that their burial plot has been
disturbed to make way for a shopping mall, highway, or apartment building.

It's a little more complicated than spreading a person's ashes from an
airplane, but at least you don't have to worry about them all blowing back
in the window!

Oh, I'm sorry...was I being "argumentative" again? Dang.

Pete

On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 11:28:52 -0800, "Peter Duniho"
wrote in
::

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
.. .
What is behind the bizarre practice of launching capsules containing
the burnt human remains of celebrities into space? Isn't this
ghoulish practice just a bit beneath the dignity of science?

Why should science and ceremony be mutually exclusive? Especially when the
ceremony is directed related to the science?

It seems to unenlightened, medieval and superstitious.

And finally, just what about this story invokes "science" anyway?

Although I couldn't find the reference, I heard on the News Hour
(PBS), that there will be ashes also flying on NASA's Pluto probe.

Who thinks of this stuff? Who approves it?

It seems to unenlightened, medieval and superstitious.

....as is any respect for the dead. No?

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

On Tue, 24 Jan 2006 22:15:48 GMT, Jose
wrote in : :

It seems to unenlightened, medieval and superstitious.

...as is any respect for the dead. No?

I would characterize the service held when someone dies as an attempt
to bring closure to the trauma and sorrow felt by the deceased's
family and other survivors.

But launching someone's ashes into space on a government funded
mission seems inappropriate.

I would characterize the service held when someone dies as an attempt
to bring closure to the trauma and sorrow felt by the deceased's
family and other survivors.

But launching someone's ashes into space on a government funded
mission seems inappropriate.

There are different ways to bring closure, and different ways to honor
the dead. That =you= don't think one way is appropriate doesn't make
it, as you said earlier, "unenlightened, medieval and superstitious".

And honoring Gene Shoemaker (whom I happened to know personally and
professionally) in this way is most certainly =not= "unenlightened,
medieval and superstitious". He was a pioneer in the field of asteroid
studies, especially earth crossing asteroids, as well as a fine
planetary scientist and geologist. I would say that sending him to
Jupiter is appropriate, enlightened, and the highest honor".

Would that any of us would merit even close to the same.

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

I would say that sending him
to Jupiter is appropriate, enlightened, and the highest honor".

I would think a true scientist would have considered it a rather useless
payload which may have displaced a useful experiment (unless of course the
experiment was to examine the effects of interplanetary space travel on
ashes)

"JohnH" wrote in message
. ..
I would think a true scientist would have considered it a rather useless
payload which may have displaced a useful experiment

Why should a "true scientist" have absolutely no concept of subjective
pleasure? Should all "true scientists" refrain from ANY act that might be
construed as unproductive?

I would say that sending him
to Jupiter is appropriate, enlightened, and the highest honor".

I would think a true scientist would have considered it a rather useless
payload which may have displaced a useful experiment (unless of course the
experiment was to examine the effects of interplanetary space travel on
ashes)

My bet is someone sitting around said, we have a payload capability of 156
pounds, 3 ounces. The payload came in at 156 pounds and 2 ounces. They
then said (with family's permission) Let's put an ounce of Gene aboard.

There you have it. ;-}
--
Jim in NC

On Tue, 24 Jan 2006 18:35:42 -0500, "JohnH"
wrote in ::


I would say that sending him
to Jupiter is appropriate, enlightened, and the highest honor".

I would think a true scientist would have considered it a rather useless
payload which may have displaced a useful experiment (unless of course the
experiment was to examine the effects of interplanetary space travel on
ashes)


Ah! The voice of reason rises above the clamor of the superstitious
multitudes.

Don't forget, it is our tax dollars which enable this dubious assault
on rational behavior.

"Jose" wrote in message
t...
[...]
And honoring Gene Shoemaker (whom I happened to know personally and
professionally)

Really? Cool!