Rescue in Space
For many years, the idea of a rescue while actually in space was viewed as somewhat unrealistic, since it was unlikely that any state would have a craft ready to reach astronauts in distress in time to rescue them. The situation has evolved over time, however.
Mir and later the International Space Station have each maintained docked Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be used as an escape mechanism in the event of an on-orbit emergency.
A significant shift in attitudes toward in-flight rescues came as a result of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, after which NASA took steps to prepare the STS-3xx or Launch on Need missions to provide for rescue in certain scenarios. However, no rescue mission was subsequently required through the remaining duration of the Space Shuttle program.
Read more about this topic: Rescue Agreement
Famous quotes containing the words rescue and/or space:
“To rescue from oblivion even a fragment of a language which men have used and which is in danger of being lost—that is to say, one of the elements, whether good or bad, which have shaped and complicated civilization—is to extend the scope of social observation and to serve civilization.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“The woman’s world ... is shown as a series of limited spaces, with the woman struggling to get free of them. The struggle is what the film is about; what is struggled against is the limited space itself. Consequently, to make its point, the film has to deny itself and suggest it was the struggle that was wrong, not the space.”
—Jeanine Basinger (b. 1936)