NASA Worker Falls To His Death On Launch Pad

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NASA Worker Falls To His Death On Launch Pad

Posted by Soulskill on Monday March 14, 2011 @06:41AM from the rest-in-peace dept.

RedEaredSlider writes "Tragedy has struck NASA as the organization announced a space shuttle worker fell to his death at the Endeavour launch pad this morning. NASA said the United Space Alliance worker fell at approximately 7:40 am eastern at the NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A. The launch pad is currently holding the space shuttle Endeavour, which is slated to launch on April 19."

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Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:44 · Score: 4, Insightful

Well,
I hope he died doing what he loved. It's the least any of us can ask for.
1. Re:Well... by Stele · 2011-03-14 06:49 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  What, falling?
2. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:52 · Score: 1
  
  falling is fun.
  landing not so much.
3. Re:Well... by grub · 2011-03-14 06:52 · Score: 1
  
  "9.8 M/s^2 seems faster than it did in the simulation..."
  
  --
  Trolling is a art,
4. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:53 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe he went skydiving as a hobby. :P
  On another note...anyone else find it interesting that 2 tragedies to people involved with this mission have already happened before it even launched? First the commander's wife gets shot, now some random worker falls to his death.
5. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:56 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  On another note...anyone else find it interesting that 2 tragedies to people involved with this mission have already happened before it even launched? First the commander's wife gets shot, now some random worker falls to his death.
  Not really, you can find just as many dead people involved with a Superbowl, a racing event, or whatever else you like. Such "tragedies" are a fact of human life, they occur with statistical relevance.
6. Re:Well... by tokul · 2011-03-14 06:59 · Score: 1
  
  I hope he died doing what he loved.
  
  Death was not instant. He was speeding down to the ground at terminal velocity when he died.
7. Re:Well... by Jason+Levine · 2011-03-14 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  Speak for yourself. I have a fear of falling. Not heights, mind you, but falling. I'm fine looking out the (closed) window on the 20th floor. Put me on a 2nd floor balcony, however, and I slowly inch backwards and get very nervous when anyone approaches the edge. Sometimes even driving over bridges sets me off. (Never so bad that I can't make it over the bridge, but enough that I can't talk and have to focus solely on the road ahead.)
  
  --
  My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
8. Re:Well... by bluefoxlucid · 2011-03-14 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  Death was not instant. He was speeding down to the ground at terminal velocity when Charles Darwin appeared to him, pointed, and laughed.
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
9. Re:Well... by swanzilla · 2011-03-14 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  Stopping.
  
  --
  0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
10. Re:Well... by Burning1 · 2011-03-14 07:27 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I say this as a guy who loves motorcycles... Think about them most of the day, commute on one, race one.
  I do not want to die 'doing what I love.' I would rather die quietly in my sleep at an old age. I take some solace in the fact that a falling death is probably one of the less painful 'accidental deaths, still... I would hope for much better.
11. Re:Well... by pclminion · 2011-03-14 07:27 · Score: 2
  
  I've bungee jumped from 175 feet before. That's not far... But you have plenty of time to think about what's happening to you on the way down. I'm sure he was doing his dream job, but his last seconds of consciousness were probably the worst terror he'd ever experienced in his life. That really sucks.
12. Re:Well... by deckitbruiseit · 2011-03-14 07:30 · Score: 1
  
  Somehow I doubt he reached terminal velocity in the what.. 100 feet from the launch pad?
13. Re:Well... by GameboyRMH · 2011-03-14 07:39 · Score: 1
  
  I have a fear of landing at unsurvivably high speeds. I've jumped on the transparent floor on the CN tower, but I wouldn't want to stand near the edge of a two-story drop without a guard rail.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
14. Re:Well... by interkin3tic · 2011-03-14 08:05 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I do not want to die 'doing what I love.' I would rather die quietly in my sleep at an old age.
  You don't love sleeping? Cause I do. Dying in my sleep would -totally- be dying doing one thing I love.
15. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:07 · Score: 1
  
  When your daughter mis-steps one day, and pulls out of a stop sign, and is t-boned, perhaps you can put "Charles Darwin appeared to her, pointed, and laughed." on her headstone.
16. Re:Well... by djdevon3 · 2011-03-14 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  It's not possible even if he dove like a peregrine falcon. For arguments sake let us assume he did not. He would need about a 1000ft in normal posture to achieve terminal velocity. In any event he likely died upon impact.
17. Re:Well... by Cinder6 · 2011-03-14 08:15 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Paraphrasing a quote I can't quite remember well enough to attribute to anyone:
  I'm not afraid of heights. I can look up at them all day. It's depths that bother me.
  
  --
  If you can't convince them, convict them.
18. Re:Well... by Cinder6 · 2011-03-14 08:17 · Score: 1
  
  I've known plenty of people who hate sleeping. I'm one of them. It just feels like such a waste of several hours that I would rather use for something else.
  
  --
  If you can't convince them, convict them.
19. Re:Well... by Redbaran · 2011-03-14 08:22 · Score: 1
  
  I would rather die quietly in my sleep at an old age.
  Me too... that's how my grandfather died and it certainly beats how all of the passengers in his car died.
20. Re:Well... by spire3661 · 2011-03-14 08:23 · Score: 1
  
  Rest is just as important as activity, do not undervalue it.
  
  --
  Good-bye
21. Re:Well... by deroby · 2011-03-14 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  Seconded.
  I bungee jumped from a 103 m (ca 337 ft) bridge some years back. ( http://www.vertigeaventures.com/xindex.htm )
  I have no clue how deep the guy fell, but I remember two things very clearly
  * you pick up speed ENORMOUSLY FAST, the air really rushes by as you go head first.
  * the brain goes in some kind of overdrive making every second seem to take forever and although I did not quite see my life flash by, I sure had plenty of time to realize what was going on and wonder why that elastic cord hadn't started slowing me down yet.
  Although he (hopefully) may not quite have "experienced" the landing, he'll sure as hell will have had a terrifying time going down =(
  
  --
  If there is one thing to be learned on slashdot, it has to be sarcasm.
22. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:29 · Score: 0
  
  Unless that launch pad was a couple thousand feet high he did not reach terminal velocity. RIP.
23. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:29 · Score: 0
  
  Sounds like one of those sentences is backwards.
  A two story drop is completely survivable (so you shouldn't fear it).
  Falling from the CN tower is almost sure to kill you.
  Sounds like you have a fear of landing at survivable but painful speeds.
24. Re:Well... by davidbrit2 · 2011-03-14 08:36 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but vivid, surreal hallucinations are a reasonable substitute for "something else".
25. Re:Well... by necro81 · 2011-03-14 08:45 · Score: 1
  
  I would rather die quietly in my sleep at an old age
  Unlike those poor bastards riding in the car I'm driving at the time.
26. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:56 · Score: 0
  
  Start keeping a dream journal (or a dream blog and make ad money). Go back ad read your old dreams every few days. The more you increase your dream recall, the more interesting your dreams will become. Even if you rarely remember your dreams, writing anything down will help. When I started I could only remember a sentence worth every week or so. Now six months later, I can fill up a few pages each week.
  I still consider sleeping to be a huge waste of time, but at least now it's not a total loss.
27. Re:Well... by elrous0 · 2011-03-14 08:57 · Score: 1
  
  Having my nuts bit off by a Laplander, that's the way I want to go.
  
  --
  SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
28. Re:Well... by still+cynical · 2011-03-14 09:08 · Score: 2
  
  Somehow I doubt he reached terminal velocity in the what.. 100 feet from the launch pad?
  If you fall 100 feet, odds are it's going to be terminal.
  
  --
  Ignorance is the root of all evil.
29. Re:Well... by BattleApple · 2011-03-14 09:13 · Score: 1
  
  I never understood why it's better to die doing something you love. I often fantasize about dying while I'm doing something I hate, like during a root canal or dinner with the in-laws.
30. Re:Well... by ilctoh · 2011-03-14 09:15 · Score: 1
  
  He died doing what I would think could be a several hundred foot free fall abruptly terminated by contact with a concrete surface. That is probably not something he loved.
  
  --
  How many slashes would a slashdot dot, if a slashdot could dot slashes?
31. Re:Well... by ColdWetDog · 2011-03-14 09:24 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but vivid, surreal hallucinations are a reasonable substitute for "something else".
  Now don't go turning this into a drug conversation.
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
32. Re:Well... by Daetrin · 2011-03-14 09:25 · Score: 1
  
  I think you're kinda missing the point? I'm pretty sure most people would rather die of old age, but a lot of people don't get that option.
  
  IF i'm going to die tomorrow, i'd certainly rather die working on a spaceship or saving someone else's life or something else important. As opposed to dying working as a cashier at a fast food restaurant during a robbery, or getting killed during a mugging, or failing to look both ways before crossing the street, etc.
  
  Dying old and dying well are both better than dying early and ignobly. Of course the difficult question comes when you have to choose between a long but ignoble life or a early but noble death (whatever your own definition of noble may be.) Luckily (presumably?) most of us aren't faced with that choice.
  
  --
  This Space Intentionally Left Blank
33. Re:Well... by chihowa · 2011-03-14 09:40 · Score: 1
  
  Why die quietly in your sleep? You only get to die once (maybe). Aren't you curious how it will feel? Having said that, I'd still prefer a relatively quick death to the long drawn out agony of cancer or something. But as the actual moment of passing approaches, I want to be as conscious as possible.
  
  --
  If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
34. Re:Well... by sconeu · 2011-03-14 09:58 · Score: 1
  
  the brain goes in some kind of overdrive making every second seem to take forever
  I suspect that's adrenaline. The same thing happened to me in the one major auto accident I got into.
  Time slowed down, I *KNEW* that I was going to be hit, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.
  
  --
  General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
35. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 09:58 · Score: 0
  
  I find that I get maybe 4-6 productive hours out of the day if I get bad sleep. If I get a good solid 8-9 hours, I get more like 12 productive hours out of the day. (Definition of "productive" may vary)
36. Re:Well... by StikyPad · 2011-03-14 10:00 · Score: 1
  
  Paraphrasing a quote I can't quite remember:
  It's not the fall that kills, it's that sudden stop at the end.
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
37. Re:Well... by Shinobi · 2011-03-14 10:01 · Score: 1
  
  I have a problem with jumping into water....
  Parachuting, both normal and HALO? Check.
  Bit of rock climbing? Check.
  Trying to jump from the 3m platform into a pool? That takes a while to work up the nerve....
  Doing it from 10m? No way.....
38. Re:Well... by Midnight+Thunder · 2011-03-14 10:02 · Score: 1
  
  I think its a question of perceived survivability and confidence in human engineering. At the end of the day its really a question of trust. For me I wouldn't want to challenge whether I can survive a two story drop and sometimes human engineering inspires confidence.
  
  --
  Jumpstart the tartan drive.
39. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 10:09 · Score: 0
  
  I want to die like my Grandfather did, just fell asleep peacefully in his chair.
  Not screaming and crying like all his passengers.
40. Re:Well... by DigiTechGuy · 2011-03-14 10:12 · Score: 1
  
  But as the actual moment of passing approaches, I want to be as conscious as possible.
  I read this as "I don't want to die" ... Death is permanent unconsciousness. You can't have it both ways.
41. Re:Well... by Hognoxious · 2011-03-14 10:23 · Score: 1
  
  It was my great uncle Ian, but I don't recall you being there.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
42. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 10:33 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, but vivid, surreal hallucinations are a reasonable substitute for "something else".
  Now don't go turning this into a drug conversation.
  He was speaking about sleep deprivation.
43. Re:Well... by GameboyRMH · 2011-03-14 11:02 · Score: 1
  
  No it makes perfect sense. Standing on the CN tower's transparent floor is at least as safe as standing in an aircraft cabin. The floor's not going to break. On the other hand if I'm standing near the edge of a two story building's roof, I could slip off the edge by accident and I'd be severely injured or killed.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
44. Re:Well... by rrossman2 · 2011-03-14 11:04 · Score: 1
  
  Obviously that's because you know some kid just peed in the pool. I wouldn't want to jump in either!
45. Re:Well... by camperdave · 2011-03-14 11:05 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but vivid, surreal hallucinations are a reasonable substitute for "something else".
  The problem is, how do you distinguish vivid, surreal hallucinations from normal office routine?
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
46. Re:Well... by deckitbruiseit · 2011-03-14 11:18 · Score: 1
  
  +1 Funny
47. Re:Well... by chihowa · 2011-03-14 11:28 · Score: 1
  
  But as the actual moment of passing approaches, I want to be as conscious as possible.
  I read this as "I don't want to die" ... Death is permanent unconsciousness. You can't have it both ways.
  But what is the transition like? What does it feel like to have your consciousness shut down? I'm not eager to die, but I don't want miss that experience because I was unconscious to begin with. Yes, the entire thing is a bit silly because I won't have time to ponder it after it's experienced or be able to report it to anyone else, but it's no more silly in that regard than saying you want to die in your sleep.
  
  --
  If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
48. Re:Well... by camperdave · 2011-03-14 11:38 · Score: 1
  
  It takes nearly a minute to fall from this height.And despite what you may have heard,you're likely to stay conscious all the way down.Thoughts like this keep me warm at night.
  - Batman
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
49. Re:Well... by Thing+1 · 2011-03-14 12:02 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, and the drug-like state that it induces. Next?!
  
  --
  I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
50. Re:Well... by MadnessASAP · 2011-03-14 12:04 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds like one of those sentences is backwards.
  A two story drop is completely survivable (so you shouldn't fear it).
  Falling from the CN tower is sure to kill you.
  Sounds like you have a fear of landing at survivable but painful speeds.
  FTFY
  Protip: If falling at terminal velocity be sure to orient yourself with your head facing down so as to ensure that your last conscious though wont be feeling your femur going through your lungs.
  
  --
  I may agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to face the consequences of saying it.
51. Re:Well... by tylernt · 2011-03-14 14:17 · Score: 1
  
  I would rather die quietly in my sleep at an old age
  I always say I want to die in bed, but what I really mean is, I'd like to be trampled by a herd of wild elephants while having sex.
  (RIP Roger Zelazny)
  
  --
  DRM 'manages access' in the same way that a prison 'manages freedom'
52. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 14:55 · Score: 0
  
  I've bungee jumped from 175 feet before. That's not far... But you have plenty of time to think about what's happening to you on the way down. I'm sure he was doing his dream job, but his last seconds of consciousness were probably the worst terror he'd ever experienced in his life. That really sucks.
  I'd actually like that. Call me crazy.
53. Re:Well... by X0563511 · 2011-03-14 16:04 · Score: 1
  
  It is odd that you do have that issue, yet have no issues with a sustained terminal velocity freefall. That makes me shiver just thinking about it.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
54. Re:Well... by X0563511 · 2011-03-14 16:07 · Score: 1
  
  I just don't want to see it coming. I'd rather not have time to fear or dwell on it.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
55. Re:Well... by X0563511 · 2011-03-14 16:08 · Score: 1
  
  Have you ever passed out while giving blood? That's probably what it's like, as the actual true cause of death is the same cause there - hypoxia. The difference is the extent - and your cognitive abilities short out well far of the mark.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
56. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 20:44 · Score: 0
  
  No, bashing his head into pavement.
57. Re:Well... by FatLittleMonkey · 2011-03-15 00:05 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, that makes me feel so much better about coming here to post a "One Small Step" comment.
  
  --
  Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
58. Re:Well... by bluefoxlucid · 2011-03-15 01:44 · Score: 1
  
  She'd be driving a stick, so that wouldn't happen. I mis-stepped one day, slipped off my brake and landed on my accelerator in an auto, almost shot into heavy traffic. I've outright misread the light and gone to punch it when the left turn signal went green (but my through signal was still red) ... rev'd the engine, came off the brake, hit the clutch, went into gear and........ no. Clutch stayed down, my foot went back on the brake while my car was hovering there in effective neutral, and I pulled the stick back to neutral position.
  I drove an auto for 7 years before Charles Darwin stopped monkeying with me and gave me a good hard shove; after so many near misses, it took a serious near-death experience for me to get off that thing and go learn to drive a stick. After that, I had a hell of a lot more control over the car, and mistakes were a lot more forgiving. There are also tracks you can go to that have silicone-lubricated circuits for practicing serious low-traction skid recovery, in case your tires decide they don't like the rain one day or you're driving in snow or hit patches of ice.
  Maybe NASA should have invested in safety training for their workers, and came up with some magic way to make it impossible for them to fall to their deaths. I guess it's hard to figure out if you're not a rocket scientist.
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
59. Re:Well... by RockDoctor · 2011-03-15 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  On a scale of peculiarity stretching from "totally normal" to "rather strange", you're decidedly weird.
  However, your desire is eminently achievable, and Slashdot is one of the better places to advertise for it. If your meaning of "Laplander" extends to cover people from the boreal parts of Finland, then there's likely to be a fair few qualified readers. And even if they're not exactly what you want, you're well on the way an assistant in just "2 degrees of separation".
  You're not a squirrel are you?
  Will you travel to the Laplander, or do you want the Laplander to travel to you?
  What arrangements do you have in mind to make sure that the Laplander gets away without being charged with murder? (You do imply that you want to die in the process of being emasculated.)
  There's a lot of detail to work out on your planned death. But I'm sure there are people here who'd help you elaborate.
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
60. Re:Well... by Frank+T.+Lofaro+Jr. · 2011-03-15 04:48 · Score: 1
  
  Death is permanent unconsciousness.
  That is a disgusting lie.
  Are you an atheist?
  
  --
  Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
61. Re:Well... by RockDoctor · 2011-03-15 05:12 · Score: 1
  
  It takes nearly a minute to fall from this height.And despite what you may have heard,you're likely to stay conscious all the way down.Thoughts like this keep me warm at night.
  From 337ft/ 103m? It takes a little over 4 seconds.
  Still long enough to get to the end of "Oh Shit!"
  (We had to do the relevant calculations for a 360 ft drop and a Boy Scout with a candle a few years ago.)
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
62. Re:Well... by camperdave · 2011-03-15 09:10 · Score: 1
  
  It takes nearly a minute to fall from this height.And despite what you may have heard,you're likely to stay conscious all the way down.Thoughts like this keep me warm at night.
  From 337ft/ 103m? It takes a little over 4 seconds.
  Still long enough to get to the end of "Oh Shit!"
  To be fair, the faller in the quote was plummeting from a helicopter.
  
  (We had to do the relevant calculations for a 360 ft drop and a Boy Scout with a candle a few years ago.)
  Was the candle to help keep track of how far the Boy Scout fell?
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
63. Re:Well... by camperdave · 2011-03-15 09:35 · Score: 1
  
  Oops. I hit submit instead of edit... For a fall to last one minute (ignoring terminal velocity effects) you'd have to be over 17km up. This is far higher than a helicopter can fly.
  A person reaches terminal velocity of 55m/s in about six seconds of freefall (highly variable, depends on the air density, clothing, orientation and limb position, temperature, and a host of other effectors), or about 1. Combine that with 54 seconds of falling at 55m/s and you get 3.14km which is more or less the ceiling height for your average helicopter, and a good height for pi day.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
64. Re:Well... by RockDoctor · 2011-03-15 13:41 · Score: 1
  Tip of the hat for working in a reference to Pi day. You and I obviously think in adjacent sectors.
  The Boy Scout ... sad tale :
  
  cave well known to Uncle Tom Cobbley (and all and all, if you know the "Widdicombe Fayre" song) ;
  
  family including a ScoutMaster with his "ticket" for taking Scouts caving come up for a walk the weekend before a caving club (club President for that year was also UK's Chief Scout ; coincidence) rigs up a mechanised "bosun's chair" to get the general public into the system ;
  
  ScoutMaster (Dad, or Uncle, I can't remember) tells the youngsters (early teens, not sure of the details) to be Â£!"%^%T$"^Â£"%%Â£^^ careful around the hole because it's lethally deep.
  
  Then accounts become a bit confused (understandably) ... "watch out for holes in the floor" ... "I'll be careful" ... explore ... tunnel at the side of main drop ... explore ... candle ... splat.
  
  I don't remember the names involved, but it seems to have been a bit of an intra-family clusterfuck with one side of the conversation thinking "he's understood the warning" and the other side thinking "he'd not let me do it if it was really dangerous". Absolutely classic error of understanding (assuming that the reported speech actually happened - memories are fallible, particularly under stress. I'm just watching a TV programme on the Hudson airplane-boat - remarkably clear memories there, but they're bolstered by recording devices.)
  We made cold-blooded jokes about it - you do - in the cold hours "on the whistle" as we guided tourists in and out of the hole. It's either "gallows humour" or "foxhole religion" (rockfall from the crowd on surface becomes artillery bombardment 360ft below ; unattended dogs have been observed to splash on impact), but you talk like that. But every one of us has had that horrible feeling as you're walking along what you think will be a reasonably level floor, and your foot just keeps on going down. For 10cm further than you expected.
  Poor kid did have time to get through an "Oh Shit", and well into a "Gawd 'elp us" (UK Scouts have to swear some oath to God, so presumably are believers of some sort) before he impacted. Very terminally.
  The safety procedures that your Boss drones on and on at you about ... apply on a lovely sunny day out walking with your family. Gravity doesn't turn off on nice days.
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
65. Re:Well... by uninformedLuddite · 2011-03-15 14:28 · Score: 1
  
  Not really, you can find just as many dead people involved with a Superbowl, a racing event, or whatever else you like. Such "tragedies" are a fact of human life, they occur with statistical irrelevance.
  
  --
  The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
66. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 10:58 · Score: 0
  
  What, falling?
  I think merging with concrete is deadlier than falling.
one can easily forget... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:45 · Score: 0

...that NASA, or any productive organisation, exists through the labour of thousands of dedicated and talented workers. We know the names of a few heroes, but everyone has his part.
1. Re:one can easily forget... by $pace6host · 2011-03-14 13:18 · Score: 1
  
  Sometimes we forget that it isn't only the astronauts who risk their lives. The astronauts do, of course, and and their trip is more perilous - but the guys who work on the cranes and gantries, and around powerful hydraulic machinery that wouldn't even notice their presence as it casually cut them in half, or under and around heavy equipment that wouldn't even sit at an angle after falling on them, they risk their lives, too. We owe them all our thanks for making these inspiring journeys possible.
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:45 · Score: 3, Funny

He really slipped from the pier.
Dude. Not funny.
Someone is dead ... stop being such a dick.
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:47 · Score: 0, Insightful

Someone is dead ... stop being such a dick.
Lots of people are dead. Where are the Slashdot stories for them?
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:49 · Score: 0

did the lemming thing
Not News by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:51 · Score: 0

How is this news? People have accidents and die every hour of every day.
1. Re:Not News by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:33 · Score: 0
  
  There were probably at least 50 specific courses of action, safeguards and cross-checks this guy took to keep himself safe as he worked. He should have been safer up there than he was on the drive to work that morning -- in fact safer than pretty much any other time in his life.
2. Re:Not News by SETIGuy · 2011-03-15 03:18 · Score: 1
  
  I've never been on the Shuttle gantries, but have been on other ones at KSC and VAFB. You would think that there are lots of precautions, but there are lots of places up there where you can fall, especially if there's no vehicle on the pad or if you're working outside the gantry. Lots of edges to reach over to grab a cable and places where if you miss a foothold or handhold you'll be relying on one hand to hold you in place. Once workers have been there a while they treat such risks as routine and since mistakes are rare, falls are rare. Your tools are on tethers, so you can't drop one and damage the vehicle. You yourself are not on a tether.
  Even scarier is the receiver platform at Arecibo. There a lot of places where workers go without any railings, and small gaps to be crossed where you can look down 500 feet and see the holes dropped hard hats and tools make in the dish, this video doesn't do it justice. You gotta be there. Every decade or so, someone does take a fall there.
  
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  Support SETI@home
Re:It looks like... by Shikaku · 2011-03-14 06:52 · Score: 1

I would have probably drawn more ire if I said he fell from the pier into the pyre, which was my original idea.
Very sad news for Brevard by f1vlad · 2011-03-14 06:52 · Score: 2

Truly sad news :( having met few workers at Kennedy Space Center right after Discovery last launch, I have no doubt he died doing what he loved. From astronaut to tour guide bus driver, KSC employees proud of what they're part of. Sad day for Brevard Co residents.

--
o_O
1. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by f1vlad · 2011-03-14 06:58 · Score: 0
  
  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150454556910001&set=o.113781385300557
  
  --
  o_O
2. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by bluefoxlucid · 2011-03-14 07:25 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I have no doubt he died doing what he loved.
  Skydiving.
  
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  Support my political activism on Patreon.
3. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by f1vlad · 2011-03-14 08:02 · Score: 0
  
  Sorry for delay in response, only just now stopped laughing.
  
  --
  o_O
4. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by Dr.+Cody · 2011-03-14 08:48 · Score: 0
  
  I have no doubt he died doing what he loved.
  Skydiving.
  It's not the fall that kills you; it's the sudden deceleration.
5. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:54 · Score: 0
  
  No such thing as deceleration... just negative acceleration.
6. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:54 · Score: 0
  
  I'm going to take a leap of faith here and say that that comment was crass. Just when I thought the standards here had hit rock bottom, they keep falling and falling.
7. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by mangu · 2011-03-14 09:18 · Score: 2
  
  Do you know the difference between a golfer and a skydiver?
  The golfer:
  WHACK!
  -"Oh, shit!"
  The skydiver:
  -"Oh, shit!"
  WHACK!
8. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 09:27 · Score: 0
  
  I'm going to take a leap of faith here...
  Don't do it from a height, such as from a shuttle launchpad
  
  ...and say that that comment was crass. Just when I thought the standards here had hit rock bottom, they keep falling and falling.
  In that case, they are no different from workers at Kennedy Space Center.
9. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by Noughmad · 2011-03-14 11:06 · Score: 1
  
  There's no such thing as negative acceleration. Acceleration is a vector, it has a magnitude (size) and a direction. And it's not the direction that kills you, it's the magnitude of the acceleration.
  
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10. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by Noughmad · 2011-03-14 11:08 · Score: 1
  
  There's also the difference between falling from 2 meters and falling from 20 meters:
  2m: *thud* AAAAA!!!
  20m: AAAAAAA *thud*
  
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11. Re:Very sad news for Brevard by X0563511 · 2011-03-14 16:12 · Score: 1
  
  I'm going to go out and say it was, depending on the fall distance:
  1. Hypoxia to a critical area of the CNS
  2. Shearing trauma to the CNS
  Really, 99% of the ways you die are covered by the above. The rest are all similar to #1, usually a result of the metabolic processes halting or malfunctioning.
  yay. happy thoughts.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Modays by datavirtue · 2011-03-14 06:55 · Score: 0

Reminds me of a Monday.

--
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
1. Re:Modays by Stargoat · 2011-03-14 07:24 · Score: 0, Offtopic
  
  It's not a Monday. It's the time change.
  There are more accidents after the Spring Time Change. There are more fatalities after the spring time change. Why are we doing this to ourselves?
  This is foolish. We should either stay standard time or stay daylight savings time. But this back and forth kills people and productivity.
  
  --
  Hoist Number One and Number Six.
2. Re:Modays by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 09:59 · Score: 0
  
  That is some truly shitty moderation.
Standing in line by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:55 · Score: 0

I misread pad as IPad, but didn't think it was anything special - queues at launch can get quite hectic :\
Why? by pclminion · 2011-03-14 06:55 · Score: 2

That's really awful. But... Aren't these guys supposed to be clipped in when they're working up there?
1. Re:Why? by jandrese · 2011-03-14 06:58 · Score: 1
  
  Probably he's a candidate for one of those safety videos where someone takes a shortcut and ends up dead/horribly mutilated.
  
  --
  
  I read the internet for the articles.
2. Re:Why? by rich3rd · 2011-03-14 07:08 · Score: 1
  
  I was just browsing pictures on NASA's site the other day that showed workers on lifts wearing harnesses. In an environment where dropping a wrench could cause millions of dollars in damage, these have got to be some of the most careful workers around, which leads me to believe that something really unusual must have happened, like several things going wrong at once. TFA is quite short on details. It goes without saying that damage to expensive equipment can not be compared to the loss of a human life, but I'm saying it anyway.
3. Re:Why? by vlm · 2011-03-14 07:16 · Score: 1
  
  That's really awful. But... Aren't these guys supposed to be clipped in when they're working up there?
  Metric clips vs Imperial clips?
  Seriously though, I've worn a climbing harness to do light telco wiring (admittedly decades ago) and one annoying failure mode was the thing you clip on breaking. In that situation you are very firmly and securely attached to something falling right next to you.... I always felt weird cliping onto the basket right where they did the repair welding... I would not be surprised if whatever he clipped onto, landed on top of him.
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
4. Re:Why? by Zerth · 2011-03-14 07:16 · Score: 1
  
  Or one of those "Is your awesome job about to end? Don't know what you'll do next, but are sure it won't be as awesome as working on the space shuttle? Don't jump off the launch tower, call 1-800-GET-HELP" videos.
5. Re:Why? by linuxgurugamer · 2011-03-14 07:19 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  When you investigate any horrific accident, such as an airplane crash, train crash, etc., it always turns out that there wasn't a single cause of it, but rather a confluence of several events/actions which combined led to the tragedy.
  I suspect that the same may be here, as well.
6. Re:Why? by Megane · 2011-03-14 07:52 · Score: 2
  
  Like Staplerfahrer Klaus?
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
7. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:54 · Score: 0
  
  Thank you, thank you, thank you for not saying "perfect storm".
8. Re:Why? by petermgreen · 2011-03-14 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  My first guess would be a worker being lax about actually using his safety harness* (possiblly caused by time or other pressures, possiblly just as a result of overconfidence) on combined with a sudden surprise making him lose his footing.
  *note that wearing a safety harness is not the same as using it. For a safety harness to protect the wearer it has to be actually attatched to something solid, prefferablly with a shock absorbing section in between the harness and attatchment point.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
9. Re:Why? by gstoddart · 2011-03-14 08:29 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  That's really awful. But... Aren't these guys supposed to be clipped in when they're working up there?
  Apparently there are some contexts in which OHSA will allow free-climbing since tying in as actually more dangerous.
  A friend sent me this video a while back (sorry for the flash) ... it shows some guy climbing a really tall tower and not being tied on for the most part.
  Not for the faint of heart or people who really don't like heights. It's not something I'd be willing to do.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
10. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 09:35 · Score: 0
  
  Wow! How much are people who climb those towers paid?! You could offer me a million a year and I wouldn't do that!
11. Re:Why? by catmistake · 2011-03-14 09:37 · Score: 1
  
  That's really awful. But... Aren't these guys supposed to be clipped in when they're working up there?
  Apparently there are some contexts in which OHSA will allow free-climbing since tying in as actually more dangerous.
  What do they have to do with it?
  
  --
  The Admin and the Engineer
12. Re:Why? by trout007 · 2011-03-14 12:58 · Score: 1
  
  There is an interesting policy at the Pads. When there isn't a shuttle at the Pad you wear hard hats. When there is a shuttle you don't wear one because if it falls off it could damage the shuttle. Nothing should fall anyway since everything is supposed to be tethered and things like watches get a strip of tape wrapped around them to keep them from falling off.
  
  --
  I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
13. Re:Why? by trout007 · 2011-03-14 12:59 · Score: 1
  
  There is an investigation so we will find out eventually what happened.
  I work at KSC and I have had fall protection training. There are certain times you need to wear fall protection. It has to do when you are working near an unprotected edge. You have to wear it when you are near an unprotected edge with a drop of 6 feet. The Pad is really pretty impressive because you can access most areas or the orbiter and a few key areas of the SRB's and ET. Before launch the access arms and platforms are moved away. Most of the Pad is protected by handrails and some of them are very strong since they get hit with exhaust.
  http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_id=10757&p_table=STANDARDS
  
  --
  I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
14. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 13:08 · Score: 0
  
  That's really awful. But... Aren't these guys supposed to be clipped in when they're working up there?
  Only if they're jewish.
15. Re:Why? by RightwingNutjob · 2011-03-14 14:29 · Score: 1
  
  That doesn't sound to OSHA-compliant too me, considering that some one, somewhere, must make hardhats with chinstraps.
16. Re:Why? by X0563511 · 2011-03-14 16:15 · Score: 1
  
  We had a guy who did that. I'm 100% sure that it wasn't OSHA approved however! ... and the tower was only about 150ft... but still.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
17. Re:Why? by fishbowl · 2011-03-14 18:48 · Score: 1
  
  I worked with a guy who maintained remote sensing equipment on a series of really high towers. I don't know how much he was paid but it was an academic job, very unlikely above $45-50K.
  
  --
  -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
18. Re:Why? by RockDoctor · 2011-03-15 04:18 · Score: 1
  
  Like Staplerfahrer Klaus?
  That sounds howlingly funny. In a not very funny manner. Trying to get a copy (legitimately)!
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
19. Re:Why? by RockDoctor · 2011-03-15 04:30 · Score: 1
  
  Chin straps aren't adequate ; there's new systems coming out (because of people being injured by falling hard-hats, I assume ; possibly equipment damage) with the hard hat attached to the harness by something more robust than a chin strap. Horses for courses.
  Also, hard hats are designed to take (your country's details may vary, slightly) to protect the worker from something relatively small dropped from a relatively small height vertically above the IP. But in many, many "fall from height" injuries where fall-protection systems (lanyards etc) have operated, the IP actually receives injury by smacking their head sideways into a structure, with injury to neck, temple, ear, etc, rather than the crown of the head.
  Different companies have different regulations, but in general in a fall-protection system, the risks of lateral impact to the head have to be accounted for and controlled. Which rules out simple hard hats in favour of something more like a mountaineer's crash helmet.
  I know ; it's picky. But it can make a difference of a person's speech, their life, or in the order of (GBP)Â£50 for a mountaineering helmet versus (GBP)Â£10 for a hard hat.
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
20. Re:Why? by WildBlueYonder · 2011-03-15 08:20 · Score: 1
  
  I read the blog post the climber made when he first posted this video. According to him tethering yourself at every step is recommended, but not mandatory. Most of the climbers do not tether themselves at every step because the extra hooking/unhooking process makes it take significantly longer to get to the top, and is much more tiring, which in turn makes the process longer and more mistake prone.
Sad but... by masterwit · 2011-03-14 06:56 · Score: 0, Troll

This makes me sad, but I have to wonder how this is "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters."
I mean are we going to start reporting all tech related deaths in every scientific industry?
Perhaps we as a Slashdot community need a dual feed or a different tag:
interest to the scientific community vs. news that matters for a bigger picture ...an "in-between" idle if you would.
I am not an ass, however, and this is a sad story and I do feel for the family, coworkers, and friends.

--
We should start a new Slashdot and return control to the geeks. It actually wouldn't be that hard to get some users to
1. Re:Sad but... by cant_get_a_good_nick · 2011-03-14 07:37 · Score: 2
  
  This makes me sad, but I have to wonder how this is "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters.
  To get meta it's not what you think matters. But it sure is something I'm glad i read.
  This is the last launch of the shuttle. It was supposed to be the height of tech, yet we lost two shuttle crews and two shuttles. Losing another person before the launch just adds another layer to the sadness about the launch. Not only will we lose the ability of manned flight for some time, but a bunch of very smart engineers will be out of work. And more abstract, we lose a bit of the shine on our national tech halo.
  All of this makes this launch very important, and a death now attached to it even more significant.
  I don't think you're a dick, but i do wonder why you're complaining about it. To open the story and comment on it takes a lot more effort than just ignoring it completely.
2. Re:Sad but... by twidarkling · 2011-03-14 07:39 · Score: 2
  
  How it matters is that space mission funding is precarious, and the equipment is easily damaged. A death on the launch pad will not be brushed aside. It will be a thorough investigation with potential delays in the mission, and implications on future funding decisions if the mission is delayed. Moreso, if something was damaged in the accident, the mission might be scrubbed for an indeterminate amount of time.
  However, the focus of the story is on human tragedy, and the life that ended, leaving it up to the reader to realise what this could mean. I realize that means you'd have to actually put some thought in, but this is Slashdot. Commenters are supposed to be fairly intelligent folk.
  
  --
  Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
3. Re:Sad but... by masterwit · 2011-03-14 11:34 · Score: 1
  
  This is the last launch of the shuttle. It was supposed to be the height of tech, yet we lost two shuttle crews and two shuttles. Losing another person before the launch just adds another layer to the sadness about the launch. Not only will we lose the ability of manned flight for some time, but a bunch of very smart engineers will be out of work. And more abstract, we lose a bit of the shine on our national tech halo.
  This is certainly a different take I really had not considered.
  
  [...]wonder why you're complaining about it.
  True there are much more irrelevant articles this topic could be considered more relevant and I do consider this more "on-the-fence" or appropriate now than before. I say I guess this was relevant and I believe that was more an expression of my frustration towards other articles poorly grouped with this.
  Yes, I'll admit when I overreact, your point is completely valid and makes me question my initial perspective towards this posting...thanks.
  
  --
  We should start a new Slashdot and return control to the geeks. It actually wouldn't be that hard to get some users to
4. Re:Sad but... by masterwit · 2011-03-14 11:43 · Score: 1
  
  In addition to my reply above, I do agree that my posting was an overreaction. It may be true that some articles are a bit out of whack but in hindsight, not so much this one. Your point is well made and also commenters are supposed to admit when they had jumped to conclusion too fast...like me.
  
  --
  We should start a new Slashdot and return control to the geeks. It actually wouldn't be that hard to get some users to
5. Re:Sad but... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 14:36 · Score: 0
  
  this is Slashdot. Commenters are supposed to be fairly intelligent folk.
  You must be new here...
6. Re:Sad but... by RockDoctor · 2011-03-15 04:35 · Score: 1
  
  Not only will we lose the ability of manned flight for some time,
  What?
  The Russians and Chinese have stopped their manned launch capabilities. And the Indians have stopped working in that direction?
  Cite, please.
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
7. Re:Sad but... by blair1q · 2011-03-15 06:02 · Score: 1
  
  news is stuff that happens anywhere
  news for nerds is stuff that happens anywhere nerds have mindspace
  really, almost nothing you read on /. matters, so that part's optional
Actually... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:58 · Score: 0

It was the sabotage work of Gary Busey...
1. Re:Actually... by irussel · 2011-03-14 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  Wouldn't that be Jake Busey? For anybody that's seen Contact at least.
If anyone follows OSHA... by Grapplebeam · 2011-03-14 06:59 · Score: 2

It's gotta be NASA. How did this happen?

--
There is no -1 Disagree.
1. Re:If anyone follows OSHA... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:15 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  People working in potentially dangerous conditions at 7:40 in the morning a day after we all lost an hour of sleep to Daylight Savings Time...yeah that could end badly.
2. Re:If anyone follows OSHA... by Thud457 · 2011-03-14 08:29 · Score: 1
  
  After these idiot time changes, I'm usually dangerously sleep-deprived until about April.
  
  --
  the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
3. Re:If anyone follows OSHA... by MrMonty · 2011-03-14 08:38 · Score: 1
  
  Mod parent up. This was my first thought exactly.
  I'm ready to go on DST permanently.
4. Re:If anyone follows OSHA... by balbus000 · 2011-03-14 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  Reminds me of this story a couple of days ago.
  
  One study found that men were more likely to commit suicide during the first few weeks of Daylight Saving Time (DST) than at any other time during the year
  I don't mean to speculate, but it is a possibility without additional information. Of course in any case, deepest sympathies go out to his friends and family.
5. Re:If anyone follows OSHA... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 10:16 · Score: 0
  
  He thought he is only a few inches from ground, it turned out it was a few meters.
6. Re:If anyone follows OSHA... by tylernt · 2011-03-14 14:22 · Score: 1
  
  How did this happen?
  Gravity. Come on, it's not rocket science.
  
  --
  DRM 'manages access' in the same way that a prison 'manages freedom'
7. Re:If anyone follows OSHA... by fishbowl · 2011-03-14 18:54 · Score: 1
  
  >After these idiot time changes, I'm usually dangerously sleep-deprived until about April.
  Part of the reason I moved to Arizona. I'm not kidding at all.
  I *was* kidding when I claimed that being in a Western time zone has long term benefits for someone who isn't a morning person, but now I'm serious about that as well. A lot has gone on in this country before I've crawled out of bed. The stock exchanges are open on the East Coast and have been for a while, for instance. Lots and lots of stuff happens before I have to wake up and I seriously believe this makes life more comfortable for me. I sure as hell have no intention of moving East from here.
  
  --
  -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 06:59 · Score: 0

I would have probably drawn more ire if I said he fell from the pier into the pyre, which was my original
DESIRE
Your only crime was missing the obvious rhyme.
Re:It looks like... by Bucky24 · 2011-03-14 07:02 · Score: 1

Welcome to slashdot :D

--
All the world's a CPU, and all the men and women merely AI agents
Re:It looks like... by Shikaku · 2011-03-14 07:04 · Score: 1

:(
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:05 · Score: 3, Funny

His name is Robert Paulson
1...2...3...hold it by TiggertheMad · 2011-03-14 07:06 · Score: 1, Insightful

The launch pad is currently holding the space shuttle Endeavour, which is slated to launch on April 19."

I thought we were done launching shuttles? Wasn't the most recent mission the last one? There was just an article the other day about William Shattner sending a final congratulations message to the orbiting shuttle crew.

--

HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
1. Re:1...2...3...hold it by C0vardeAn0nim0 · 2011-03-14 07:09 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  it was the last lauch for _discovery_. atlantis and endeavour still have one launch each on the schedule
  
  --
  What ? Me, worry ?
2. Re:1...2...3...hold it by Ken+D · 2011-03-14 07:10 · Score: 1
  
  It was the last mission for THAT shuttle.
  It's being decommissioned now and will never go back to space.
3. Re:1...2...3...hold it by SJHillman · 2011-03-14 07:10 · Score: 1
  
  That was the last mission for Discovery... there's still two more shuttles, Endeavor being one of them.
4. Re:1...2...3...hold it by ATestR · 2011-03-14 07:10 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The mission that just ended was the last flight of Discovery. The other two shuttles each have one final flight before they two are sent to museums.
  
  --
  âoeAny society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
5. Re:1...2...3...hold it by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:11 · Score: 0
  
  Final launch for Discovery. The article is about Endeavour.
6. Re:1...2...3...hold it by vlm · 2011-03-14 07:18 · Score: 1
  
  I thought one of the post-Columbia safety protocols was always have a stack ready to go in case a rescue mission is necessary. Waiver?
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
7. Re:1...2...3...hold it by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, they have been playing the "Last Mission" card for about 6 months now.
8. Re:1...2...3...hold it by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:40 · Score: 0
  
  There is one more scheduled launch, and the other shuttle is being prepped in the case a rescue mission is necessary, but will not actually launch.
9. Re:1...2...3...hold it by PyroMosh · 2011-03-14 07:47 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Basically the rule says that if the shuttle is going to an orbit where it can rendezvous with ISS, that a backup has to be able to reach ISS within 28 days. During that time, the astronauts can stay there, but beyond 28 days, ISS can't really handle the extra crew.
  If the shuttle mission is to an orbit where rendezvous is NOT possible, a vessel has to be ready to go more or less immediately (7 days if I recall).
  Since the Columbia disaster, I believe only one mission was to a non-ISS orbit. (The final Hubble Space Telescope upgrade mission) This is the only time that two shuttles were on the pad simultaneously.
  Now for the specific situation going on now:
  The next flight will be Endeavour, and Atlantis will be the designated rescue shuttle.
  Atlantis will fly the final mission of the shuttle program, (if the funding is approved) and there will be no space shuttle available as a backup. Because of this, Atlantis will only be carrying a crew of 4 so if something goes wrong with it, they can recover the crew via Russian capsule(s) while the four stay at ISS.
  
  --
  Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
Crazy Matter Streams by DarthVain · 2011-03-14 07:07 · Score: 1

I am pretty sure if Gary Busey and Charlie Sheen crossed paths the world might end.
Re:It looks like... by vlm · 2011-03-14 07:12 · Score: 1, Funny

A miscalculation caused a slip.
Another metric vs english measurement unit malfunction for NASA?

--
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
OSHA may have a field day here by subk · 2011-03-14 07:15 · Score: 4, Interesting

Where was his harness and shock-cord? I have seen contractors get BIG whammies for letting workers "strap out", and this at only 35ft. This guy should have fallen about eight feet and suffered a cracked rib or two from the shock-cord snapping him a bit, but a fall to the death? At a NASA facility? That would require CCCPish levels of idiocy.

--
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have backups to corrupt.
1. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:29 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Having worked at a national lab, I'm similarly amazed. The rules are very strict (e.g. you have to be safety-trained to even use a regular ladder to fetch something up high). For this to have happened, the worker must have been violating the safety rules. (It's possible, but much less likely, that there was some kind of equipment failure.) One thing the investigation will have to look into is whether this was just one employee breaking the rules, endangering himself, or whether higher-ups were aware of the corner-cutting and let it happen anyways. Or, worse, is a superior was pressuring him to complete certain work in an unsafe manner.
  
  Again, from my experience I would guess it was the worker himself who was side-stepping the rules. (I hate to sound like I'm blaming the victim, though...) Typically management get in so much trouble (and have to deal with so much paperwork and lost productivity from shutdowns) that they really do care about safety and DO NOT want anyone breaking a safety rule.
  
  Then again, I'm speaking in generalities. We'll have to wait and see what led to this particular tragedy.
2. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by pclminion · 2011-03-14 07:38 · Score: 1
  
  A friend of mine who works mostly blue-collar jobs has been told by more than one foreman on a work site: "If you fall from rigging, your employment is terminated before you hit the ground." Apparently this is how they sidestep safety regulations -- I'm not responsible for that guy, he wasn't my employee.
3. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:49 · Score: 1
  
  And his family will probably get screwed out of his life insurance because he wasn't using his safety harness.
4. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by tophermeyer · 2011-03-14 07:57 · Score: 1
  
  IME from my younger days, jobs sites like that are the exception. Unless you're working for a really shitty contractor you probably have foremen that know how dangerous working in rigging can be and make sure their guys are happy, comfortable, and safe. Nobody likes seeing anyone get hurt at a job site. And nobody who works for a living would want to see a job shut down (and people out of work) because someone else was cutting corners and being unsafe.
  Of course I have no personal knowledge of what the conditions are like for NASA shuttle techs, but I have a hard time believing that really specialized technicians like that have any motivation to cut corners.
5. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by wkk2 · 2011-03-14 08:08 · Score: 1
  
  People never think they will fall so they do dumb things. Yesterday, a friend told me that one of his workers was caught standing an extension ladder on top of a small SUV to gain a little extra height. A crew painting my house “borrowed” a 14-gauge extension cord without asking. They used it to lower themselves down a 12:12 pitch roof. Idiots! If they had just asked, I would have let them use a 12.5 mm kernmantle rope and harness. They damaged the cord and cut the top shingle.
6. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by hedwards · 2011-03-14 08:29 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not sure about OSHA, but I know our state L&I compliance personnel don't adhere to that standard. If I'm out flagging and I so much as utter the words "I don't know" that's a willful violation right there, the company is ultimately responsible for making sure that the employees know about the safety requirements and if there is a violation knowing why it was done that way. A willful violation carries a much stiffer penalty than one that's accidental. And often times they'll let you off with a warning if you just correct the error or explain why it wasn't possible to fully comply.
  Around here if an accident like that happened, the foreman and the company would still be responsible for the other employees being out of compliance and almost certainly the one that died as well. Just so that they can't sidestep it in that fashion.
7. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by syousef · 2011-03-14 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  A friend of mine who works mostly blue-collar jobs has been told by more than one foreman on a work site: "If you fall from rigging, your employment is terminated before you hit the ground." Apparently this is how they sidestep safety regulations -- I'm not responsible for that guy, he wasn't my employee.
  ...and is the manager's employment terminated before the back of his head hits the ground as the result of blunt force trauma to the front of his face?
  Unless it's all off the books (which in itself can be tracked), how does a foreman deny someone on the job site that's been paid is a worker?
  
  --
  These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
8. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 09:15 · Score: 0
  
  Apparently this is how they sidestep safety regulations -- I'm not responsible for that guy, he wasn't my employee.
  Is that what the quote means? I see it as a warning that if you violate the rules, you will get terminated very quickly without hesitation even if you survive. Not following safety procedures is a sure way to immediately get kicked out the door. Kind of suck to fall, break something, then find out you are fired because you didn't use your harness, but it has to be that way to provide a sense of urgency to using PPE.
9. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 12:02 · Score: 0
  
  Legally and practically, if somebody gets hurt on your job site it's your fault. Period. It might be his fault too, but it's always your fault.
10. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by fishbowl · 2011-03-14 18:57 · Score: 1
  
  "If you fall from rigging, your employment is terminated before you hit the ground."
  PLEASE say that within earshot of someone who will testify...
  
  --
  -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
11. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by fishbowl · 2011-03-14 18:59 · Score: 1
  
  "...and is the manager's employment terminated before the back of his head hits the ground as the result of blunt force trauma to the front of his face?
  Unless it's all off the books (which in itself can be tracked), how does a foreman deny someone on the job site that's been paid is a worker?"
  The OP is playing out a fantasy, don't get drawn in.
  
  --
  -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
12. Re:OSHA may have a field day here by RockDoctor · 2011-03-15 05:06 · Score: 1
  Again, from my experience I would guess it was the worker himself who was side-stepping the rules. (I hate to sound like I'm blaming the victim, though...)
  Can't rule that scenario out from the information available. But you are nonetheless "blaming the victim". Which is an all too common management tactic. But yes, it does happen.
  My first full-time employer asked me at interview if I was afraid of heights, because maintenance work high in drilling derricks was a necessary task (it wouldn't have affected my being hired, but they like to know beforehand so they can schedule around it) ; my reply was "I'm a mountaineer and a caver ; working over a 300ft drop is nothing new to me; heights scare seven colours (and three distinct smells) of shit out of me. So, when I work at height, you can bet MY bottom dollar that I am going to be firmly attached at several distinct points, with my swing paths in the event of a fall planned out, my self-rescue plan worked out and my harness in good condition and properly attached." I am paranoid about heights ; I know they are trying to kill me.
  (And every one of my trainees there got taken up the derrick by me to be shown how to do it properly, and to let them find out if they could do it for their own personal confidence. I only had to "talk down" one of them, with a "confidence rope" on them which I'd secreted inside my toolbag without telling them.)
  I can think of several different perfectly plausible failure scenarios
  
  -harness not done up properly (some of them can be damned uncomfortable, or depressingly easy to assemble and adjust wrongly)
  
  -lanyard attached to strong point on tower but the other end attached to a weak point (tool carrier) on the harness
  
  -lanyard strongly attached to harness but attached to something on the tower that broke when the fall happened
  
  -lanyard attached to a strong point on the tower, but strong point was damaged during last launch and hasn't been inspected since. Strong point failed.
  
  -lanyard fails
  
  -harness fails
  
  -person fails (heart attack because of the fall-arrest shock loads)
  
  -fall-arrest system works properly, but IP strangled by tool-bag suspension cord
  
  -And I haven't even got into the hazards of being stuck hanging in a harness for an extended period.
  Work at height is hazardous, inherently. Which is why all JRAs (Job Risk Assessments, in my industry's jargon) that involve work at height require an assessment of "can the work at height be eliminated (work platform, scaffolding ...)?"
  Having said all that, many deaths and injuries resulting from work at height are down to management "fix it, now!" pressure coupled with inadequate training of the IP or inadequate fall-arrest equipment. I'd expect NASA to have well-thought through policies ; whether they're followed in practice ... is a different question.
  I was at a worksite safety meeting a few weeks ago where the "Safety Officer" made a comment about "rules like this are written in blood". Which is very true. Depressingly true.
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:16 · Score: 5, Funny

A miscalculation caused a slip.
Another metric vs english measurement unit malfunction for NASA?
Yes. He was thinking in SI units and turned out the problem was in .... feet.
Yes, I'm going to Hell.
Re:It looks like... by Onuma · 2011-03-14 07:16 · Score: 1

You coulda been a poet, didn't even know it!

--
What else can happen when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?
Re:It looks like... by C_amiga_fan · 2011-03-14 07:21 · Score: 0

>>>Lots of people are dead. Where are the Slashdot stories for them?
Here ya go:
(AP) (MSNBC) Almost 150,000 people died today.
Most from old age, some from stupidity (driving too fast, climbing without ropes, etc), some from disease, a few were stillborn, and several experienced random accidents. Film at 11.

--
FREE magazine : http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/prior/
Re:It looks like... by twidarkling · 2011-03-14 07:32 · Score: 1

I admit it, I laughed, and if I had mod points, you'd get one.

--
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
Not nearly as impressive as... by Baloo+Uriza · 2011-03-14 07:33 · Score: 1

...having your body scattered across 10 states. RIP, Columbia.

--
Furries make the internet go.
last life? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:42 · Score: 0

I just hope this is the last death due to the shuttle program...
Spiderman by The+Great+Pretender · 2011-03-14 07:47 · Score: 0

...oops! I thought this was a post about a Broadway play

--
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 07:54 · Score: 1

One person is dead by their own mistake.
The Japanese are in a much more critical situation right now because of a natural disaster.
I know what to play at his funeral: by Lilith's+Heart-shape · 2011-03-14 07:56 · Score: 0

"High Speed Dirt" by Megadeth

--
I write sci-fi for metalheads
1. Re:I know what to play at his funeral: by srodden · 2011-03-14 09:24 · Score: 1
  
  Not Real Life's "Catch Me I'm Falling"?
  
  --
  Why can't we let people believe whatever they like? It's not like a little religion has ever hurt anyone.
Re:It looks like... by interkin3tic · 2011-03-14 08:02 · Score: 1

Where are the Slashdot stories for them?
When they're notable nerds, or die in a way that is of interest to nerds (falling off a launch pad qualifies) then the Slashdot stories for them are... uh... on slashdot.
Re:It looks like... by Hylandr · 2011-03-14 08:05 · Score: 1

Assuming the cameras caught everything I wonder if there will be an analysis of the acceleration and downward trajectory?
Seems odd though, that nearly all of Nasa's accidents have involved something coming *down*
- Dan.

--
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
Re:It looks like... by DriedClexler · 2011-03-14 08:09 · Score: 1

No, you're just obligated by law to throw on your sunglasses and follow your remark with "... YEAH".

--
Information theory is life. The rest is just the KL divergence.
So.. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:10 · Score: 0

..did the tanks insulation foam get damaged?
NASA should be disbanded by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:19 · Score: 1

More people have died working for NASA than by the Japanese nuclear power plants since this weekend.
Daylight Savings Time by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:49 · Score: 0

I blame it. He was not used to being awake that early.
Safety measures by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 08:53 · Score: 0

They should surround the launchpad with trampolenes, then they can be the first human powered vehicle into low earth orbit.
They should.. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 09:08 · Score: 0

They should launch his corpse into space or cremate him under the rocket exhaust - he would have wanted it that way.
Re:It looks like... by AshtangiMan · 2011-03-14 09:08 · Score: 1

I make a rhyme every opportunity!
Re:It looks like... by Mister+Whirly · 2011-03-14 09:12 · Score: 1

Or even "Staying on a platform - it isn't like it is rocket science or anything..." *slides sunglasses on to face*

--
"But this one goes to 11!"
The title should read... by PerfectionLost · 2011-03-14 09:48 · Score: 1

NASA Employee Succumbs to the Perils of Gravity.
NASA guys seemed bummed out at work today by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 10:20 · Score: 0

I work in a cafe whose customers are mostly NASA employees. Lots of software engineers.
Many of the regulars seemed bummed out today. I thought it was budget woes or DST until I saw this story.
Very sad news.
Re:It looks like... by SecurityGuy · 2011-03-14 10:53 · Score: 2

When they're notable nerds, or die in a way that is of interest to nerds (falling off a launch pad qualifies) then the Slashdot stories for them are... uh... on slashdot.
Personally, I don't find falling off a launch pad newsworthy for Slashdot. It was an industrial accident, pure and simple. If someone were standing on the pad when the engines fired, that would be dramatically bizarre enough to be newsworthy.
FWIW, I don't intend to make a joke of this. Even if it's not "news", this was a real, live person, and his passing, family, and friends deserve respectful treatment. Someday I'll die, too, and I don't expect my passing to be newsworthy, either.
obligatory..... by davcorp · 2011-03-14 11:26 · Score: 1

In Soviet Russia, Launch Pad falls on you!

--
Gravity!... It's not just a good idea... It's the Law!
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 11:27 · Score: 0

When they're notable nerds, or die in a way that is of interest to nerds (falling off a launch pad qualifies) then the Slashdot stories for them are... uh... on slashdot.
Personally, I don't find falling off a launch pad newsworthy for Slashdot. It was an industrial accident, pure and simple. If someone were standing on the pad when the engines fired, that would be dramatically bizarre enough to be newsworthy.
FWIW, I don't intend to make a joke of this. Even if it's not "news", this was a real, live person, and his passing, family, and friends deserve respectful treatment. Someday I'll die, too, and I don't expect my passing to be newsworthy, either.
You see, you have no ambition! I'm sure that if you just applied yourself you could sneak on to a launch pad and be there when the engines went off. Of course some douche would still claim the story does not belong on /.
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 11:39 · Score: 0

Someone is dead ... stop being such a dick.
Good, then they can't hear us. Someone is always dead
NASA Is Dead Due to Lauch of iPad - what? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 12:20 · Score: 0

Oh.. I'm sorry. I wasn't totally awake...
Tragic.
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 14:25 · Score: 0

Today, Please let it be Steve Jobs.... Please let it be Steve Jobs.... Please let it be Steve Jobs....
Re:It looks like... by twidarkling · 2011-03-14 14:47 · Score: 2

Nah, that makes sense. After all, NASA's all about getting things high.

--
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
Which year was this? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 18:46 · Score: 0

The space shuttles are retired.
Re:It looks like... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-14 22:15 · Score: 0

You got to be a stupid muthafucka to slip and fall off that shit. Still, the mental image is hilarious.
Stay tuned by ThatsNotPudding · 2011-03-14 23:39 · Score: 1

this is but a glimpse of the privatized space biz.
Re:It looks like... by vivian · 2011-03-15 02:15 · Score: 1

I'm no rocket scientist but I'd guess his acceleration was around 9.8 ms^2 down?
Re:It looks like... by vivian · 2011-03-15 02:17 · Score: 1

I'm no rocket scientist but I'd guess his acceleration was around 9.8 ms^2 down?
9.8 ms ^ -2 that is...
OSHA safety standards/followed and/or enforced by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-15 02:32 · Score: 0

As an ex employee of Lockheed (Safety Engineer at the Kennedy Space Center) and 37 years of Occupational Safety and Health experience I find it highly unexceptable that anyone working at heights is not properly protected by a guard railing system or a proper fall protection harness and lanyard system (fall protection equipment).
How did this happen? Someone needs to answer these questions and now. It's not that hard. Did the poor soul that fell have clearance to work at heights, was he properly trained and was he wearing fall protection equipment when he fell? If not why not?