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From: labc-4da@web-2f.berkeley.edu (Bob Heiney)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: "Commonplace"
Message-ID: <24071@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 5 May 89 17:49:16 GMT
References: <1429@sialis.mn.org>
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 45

Here's my two cents about shuttle media coverage:  it's awful!

FLAME ON

For yesterday's launch of Atlantis, ABC only covered the last 2 and a
half minutes of the countdown.  Yes, I know Ollie North's verdict came
down at about the same time, but they weren't saying anything relevant
about it.

All we ever see after the initial live coverage is "5 4 3 2 1 liftoff..."
voice-over "The space shuttle ___ lifted off today after numerous delays..."

Since the Challenger disaster we now get:

1)  A more detailed crew bio right before lift-off, including their ages
2)  To hold our breath along with Peter Jennings at T+73 secs
3)  To sigh with relief when the boosters drop away

This drives me *crazy*.

But the thing the annoys me the most is how they constantly talk over
mission control.  I don't have access to NASA select, and would love
to just listen to all the countdown and ascent audio, but I can never
hear it because some network anchor is always blabbing on about some
meaningless point.

I also think this whole idea of "a return to the Golden Age of space
exploration" is total BS.  As someone recently pointed out in this
newsgroup, space exploration is almost dead in the U.S.

FLAME OFF

Space flight and exploration are not commonplace (yet), and shouldn't be
viewed as such.  The media should take the time to educate their anchors
and reporters about the shuttle.  Perhaps expecting to hear Mission Control,
which isn't very understandable to many, is foolish; I still want to.
Mostly, I'd just like the truth told.  Magellan is a mapper, not an atmosphere
probe like one of the anchors mentioned.  The ET is *not* a motor, it's a tank,
Mr. Jennings.

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| Bob Heiney                         "And in the end, the love you            |
| labc-4da@rosebud.Berkeley.edu       take is equal to the love you make."    |
|                                                     -- The Beatles          |
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