Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84; site mhuxt.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!js2j From: js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) Newsgroups: net.columbia,net.philosophy Subject: Re: Escape tower for shuttle orbiter? Message-ID: <1482@mhuxt.UUCP> Date: Tue, 25-Mar-86 10:19:16 EST Article-I.D.: mhuxt.1482 Posted: Tue Mar 25 10:19:16 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 26-Mar-86 07:32:56 EST References: <9696@ucla-cs.ARPA> <588@qantel.UUCP> <2593@genat.UUCP> <12610@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <11035@amdcad.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill Lines: 41 Xref: watmath net.columbia:2705 net.philosophy:4678 > > I have not touched on this kind of a trade-off, because I don't see any > >real situation where we would have to make a choice between saving the > >shuttle orbiter *or* the crew. But, *if* this choice were necessary, it > >seems clear to save the orbiter. > > -- David desJardins > > Money is trash ( ask Reagan, or just look at his deficit spending ) we just > print it, if a shuttle is so valuable, we print x billion dollars and make > one. Memories and human relationships are not replaceable, the price of > 100 shuttles will never make what happened right with the children of those > astronauts. Can you imagine telling their husbands and wives that you really > wanted to save them, but it would have destroyed your expensive toy? I really don't know how much a shuttle costs offhand. But I know it costs more than just running some large printing presses for a few weeks, as you imply. It takes an investment of human time to create a shuttle. Assuming that a shuttle costs 1 billion dollars, and that it was assembled by professionals making an average of $30/hr. The shuttle then costs 370 human-lifetimes of work. Suppose terrorists kidnapped the astronauts and demanded 370 professional- human-lifetimes of work. Even if they wanted it in 16,000 easy 1-professional- human-year of work installments, would you volunteer to be one of those 16,000 people? Would your answer be any different when some other terrorists kidnapped 5 people you'd never heard of and made the same demands? Would your answer be any different if you found out that only 369 other professionals would volunteer and that you'd all have to invest your entire lifetimes in order to ransom the kidnappees? Somehow, trading 370 lives for 5 doesn't make too much sense to me. > > Please tell me you didn't mean it. > > Mike > > -- > UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!mike > ARPA: amdcad!mike@decwrl.dec.com *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** -- Jeff Sonntag ihnp4!mhuxt!js2j