Letter: Let’s prevent another tragedy

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2001 | 9:15 a.m.

Last Wednesday I watched "Challenger: The Final Voyage" on the Discovery Channel, and wondered if people had learned anything from that mistake. The program focused not only on a national tragedy that could have been prevented, but also on Christa McAuliffe, chosen to be the first teacher is space, and the pre-flight publicity that this mission got because of her. When the footage of the space shuttle exploding was shown, my thoughts were that this had become the unplanned lesson!

As issues like road construction, which letter writer Ron Bourgoin mentioned Thursday, are glossed over by those adamant on moving nuclear waste out of their back yards and into ours, the possibilities of another preventable tragedy increase. One knowledgeable person unfortunately too far down the decision making chain knew the O-rings on the rockets had a high probability of failing under the launch conditions. He was outvoted.

Brian Greenspun's "Lonely ... but right on" Where I Stand column on Sen. Harry Reid being the only one to voice opposition to Spencer Abraham as secretary of energy made me think of that adamant engineer who opposed the launch of the Challenger. Hindsight proves he was right. Reid obviously is trying to prevent a tragedy in our back yard, and along the nuclear route, by voicing opposition to putting that man, with his history of voting to ship nuclear waste here, in a powerful position to do just that.

Will hindsight be necessary to prove Reid is right? And if so, how many of us will be around to see it?

VICKI MILDICE