Congrats
05-12-02, 11:01 AM
;) I read this just a minute ago, and I don't know if it's ironic, funny, or sad. It just seems incredibly pathetic for the Russians, and as an American, I don't know if that should have some reserved feeling for me. It isn't just their downfall- what has NASA done lately?
Baikonur Cosmodrome Roof Collapses
Sun May 12,10:50 AM ET
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) - The roof of a 260-foot-tall hangar at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan collapsed Sunday, trapping eight workers in the debris, officials said.
An eight-man construction crew was on the roof of the large hanger at the cosmodrome — Russia's main rocket launching site — when it caved in, said Kairzhan Turezhanov, a spokesman for the Kazakh Emergency Situations Committee.
Rescuers were unable to approach the building, which was still unsteady, and so had no information about the condition of the workers, Turezhanov said. He said there were fears that the walls could also collapse.
"We don't know whether they're alive or not," said a Russian duty officer at Baikonur who gave only his last name, Denisov.
A special Russian rescue brigade left Moscow for Baikonur, some 1,300 miles southeast of Moscow, and Kazakh authorities were waiting for them before taking action, Turezhanov said.
It was unclear what if any equipment was stored in the hangar. The ITAR-Tass news agency said the hangar was used to assemble and test space vehicles. It reported that three of five segments of the roof had fallen.
Baikonur is Russia's main commercial rocket launching site and is rented from Kazakhstan by Russia for its space program.
This has deep metaphorical meaning- the Russian crews scrambling the roof, trying hard not to die along with their post-soviet pride, their leaders trying hard to figure how to spin so it won't seem entirely like Russia has died along with the Cosmodrome (and it probably already has). Aren't we fighting time along with them? How much could RSA care that NASA doesn't?
Baikonur Cosmodrome Roof Collapses
Sun May 12,10:50 AM ET
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) - The roof of a 260-foot-tall hangar at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan collapsed Sunday, trapping eight workers in the debris, officials said.
An eight-man construction crew was on the roof of the large hanger at the cosmodrome — Russia's main rocket launching site — when it caved in, said Kairzhan Turezhanov, a spokesman for the Kazakh Emergency Situations Committee.
Rescuers were unable to approach the building, which was still unsteady, and so had no information about the condition of the workers, Turezhanov said. He said there were fears that the walls could also collapse.
"We don't know whether they're alive or not," said a Russian duty officer at Baikonur who gave only his last name, Denisov.
A special Russian rescue brigade left Moscow for Baikonur, some 1,300 miles southeast of Moscow, and Kazakh authorities were waiting for them before taking action, Turezhanov said.
It was unclear what if any equipment was stored in the hangar. The ITAR-Tass news agency said the hangar was used to assemble and test space vehicles. It reported that three of five segments of the roof had fallen.
Baikonur is Russia's main commercial rocket launching site and is rented from Kazakhstan by Russia for its space program.
This has deep metaphorical meaning- the Russian crews scrambling the roof, trying hard not to die along with their post-soviet pride, their leaders trying hard to figure how to spin so it won't seem entirely like Russia has died along with the Cosmodrome (and it probably already has). Aren't we fighting time along with them? How much could RSA care that NASA doesn't?