I used to be a news junky, back in the day I’d real the paper first thing, grew up watching the news every morning and evening. I slowed down during the last 2 presidential elections, and then pretty much avoided it once Covid hit. My husband always has on cnn/Fox News/cnbc on in the kitchen and I try not to listen. When the fires from Canada happened, I could see and smell it before I knew what was going on (and now own an air purifier). It can really affect your mental health!
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That is impossible to understand. These are not new technology, they’re not expensive, and they wouldn’t need fancy or innovative design. Maybe someone who has a better understanding of engineering than I do (which is none) can say if there’s an issue I’m missing.
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And sometimes it shows up as a cc thread before the news seems to break elsewhere !
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(I hated that “20,000 Leagues Unser the Sea”.
Was irritated for years that my parents had me go on it as a 4 year old (bc I continued to have nightmares for awhile)….but as an adult I returned to see if I was justified in still not liking it……
Discovered that I Still disliked it but then bc it was old, dirty, hot, and miserably crowded.)
I simply can’t imagine wanting to go in the Titan submersible. Let alone pay for $$$$ to do so.
Incomprehensible to me.
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I don’t really have a problem with extremely wealthy people deciding to spend their money on a dangerous joyride. It’s obscene, but it’s their choice. The problem I have is when we, as taxpayers, wind up footing the ENORMOUS bill for the search and (extremely unlikely) rescue.
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I’m sure the costs are going to be incredibly high. But this is also an opportunity for everyone involved to use this rescue effort (sadly, soon to be a recovery effort) as a training exercise.
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“So now we have something that looks startlingly like the maiden—and final—voyage of the Titanic. It too was an experimental ship that was considered a technological and engineering marvel at its time. It was one that allowed some of the world’s wealthiest and esteemed individuals to purchase a ticket and set out on a great adventure on the Atlantic Ocean. However, it also lacked basic safety tools that ultimately doomed it and 1,500 passengers to a cold, watery death.”
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True but this happened about a week ago.
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The Titanic sinking led directly to the maritime safety convention (SOLAS), presumably this will do likewise for any future passenger carrying submersibles:
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missed it.
My thoughts:
- it’s a tragic situation for the people in the Titan sub.
- after reading a news article about it, also sounds like the CEO of the sub company cut a lot of corners and repeatedly refused to have the sub certified & inspected. At a minimum, that’s a very poor decision.
- $100,000 is a lot of money to spend on a voyage like this, so if you can afford to plunk down $100k just so you can see the Titanic up close and personal, then you live a pretty privileged life.
- If you’re able and willing to plop down $100k for something like that, I’d expect that you’d at least do your homework and confirm if the underwater craft you’re going to be in has been rated/certified/inspected. Because if something goes wrong hundreds of feet underwater, that’s really bad news.
- At the same time, I don’t wish ill will at all of the foolish rich people whose lives are on the line right now. They’re probably terrified. It’s a horrific situation.
- When it’s all said and done, their families will levy tons of lawsuits, the company will go under, and the families will not see any financial restitution from it because the company will go bankrupt.
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What happened to Christa McAuliffe?
But when the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off on Jan. 28, 1986, disaster struck. **The spacecraft exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff, killing McAuliffe and the other six crew members.**Aug 2, 2022
This is why. These people couldn’t possibly have known all the dangers they faced or what was needed technically to make this safe enough for them. They put their faith in the wrong person assuring them they’d be safe.
You cannot ever know how ANGRY my dad was when NASA allowed a civilian to go up in space basically as a publicity stunt. My dad worked for NASA, was an aeronautical engineer who had written a book on aircraft design. He knew the danger inherent in every mission with the million things that could go wrong (especially as a safety engineer for NASA). Astronauts (up until then) were trained military people who had “signed up for the mission” and very well versed about the risks beforehand. All Christa really knew was this was NASA–what more was she to research?
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DH works with a great many former submariners, and they are uniform in their sympathy for the families , but also the foolishness of danger tourism. The sea is unforgiving, the depths even moreso. Even if they could find the submersible, they still have to reach it, and that is incredibly difficult,
There are reports in the news of sonar picking up banging sounds that possibly could be from the sub. It would be great if they are but personally I’m dubious. In the past when subs have been lost there were initially news reports of signaling or communication with the crew such as with the Kursk.
According to journalist Dave Pogue the sub was supposed to have seven ways to surface. One story is all seven simaltaneously failed along with their ability to communicate with the surface. Or, to proffer explanation B, the hull cracked. Using Occam’s razor B seems more likely to me.
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A little bit more info about the CEO (article from 2019):
Most likely scenario, sadly.
Of course, conspiracy theories are now surfacing that there could have been some sabotage that led to the Titan’s demise.
Two catastrophic mission failures in 135 total Space Shuttle missions works out to a roughly 1.5% chance of something going horribly wrong. Who would board a flight to Chicago knowing it had a 1.5% chance of crashing into Lake Michigan? Space travel, and voyages to deep ocean depths should be left to the professionals, not schoolteachers from New Hampshire or adventure seeking tourists with deep pockets, but no true understanding of what they are getting themselves into.
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This was linked in one of the CNN updates (podcast dates November 2022):
Some articles said seats in the submersible were $250,000 apiece, so definitely not petty cash for most of us, whether $100,000 or $250,000 apiece.
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The CEO claimed that while some of their customers were ultra wealthy, some customers took out mortgages to be able to see the Titanic wreck, according to quotes from one of the articles I read.
NASA astronauts undergo psychological evaluation and training; one would think that there should be some sort of similar evaluation of people going into a sealed can that gets lowered into the oceanic abyss. What if one of them has a serious meltdown? Not an unlikely scenario. The consequences could be devastating for the rest of the crew.
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