Shuttle-Riding Bat Dies The Most Glorious Death Imaginable

[Pxtl]

http://i.gizmodo.com/5173385/shuttle%20 ... imaginable

On a cool spring eve March 15th, 2009 a bat, crippled and wistful, clung to the Space Shuttle Discovery as it was thrust toward the great beyond. Goodbye and godspeed, my magnificent Spacebat.

At some point during the countdown, Spacebat├óÔé¼ÔÇØa Free-Tailed Chiroptera├óÔé¼ÔÇØwas spotted latched to the foam of the external fuel tank, occasionally moving but never letting go. Wildlife experts deduced that he had injured his wing and shoulder, leaving him with little chance of survival. He remained on the tank until launch. NASA's cold report?

The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery's climb into orbit.

True! But here's how it should have read:

Bereft of his ability to fly and with nowhere to go, a courageous bat climbed aboard our Discovery with stars in his weak little eyes. The launch commenced, and Spacebat trembled as his frail mammalian body was gently pushed skyward. For the last time, he felt the primal joy of flight; for the first, the indescribable feeling of ascending toward his dream├óÔé¼ÔÇØa place far away from piercing screeches and crowded caves, stretching forever into fathomless blackness.

Whether he was consumed in the exhaust flames or frozen solid in the stratosphere is of no concern. We know that Spacebat died, but his dream will live on in all of us.

[smoth]

I probably didn't get frozen the lack of good breatheable air starts pretty quick and it probably died quickly.

have a nice day.

[lurker]

Some thoughts on the subject from 4chan.

[MidKnight]

ahhh! my brain! auuuuuggghhh!!!

Auurrrggh!
auuugghhtthh....

durderumsaos/b/sjkjjxiiiiiiidssssss/b/efssssss4Chardrhulthemrordurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

EDIT: Please disregard this mssage, I missed the meme

[smoth]

the meme goes "we can't stop here, it is bat country"... that is the joke hurf

[lurker]

I don't think he'd have such a violent reaction if he didn't get the joke.

[MidKnight]

I didn't get the joke

[1v0ry_k1ng]

why the hell do they have so many buttons

wouldnt say, a single computer screen with menu's suffice

[smoth]

they have shit micro.

[KDR_11k]

why the hell do they have so many buttons

wouldnt say, a single computer screen with menu's suffice

Not when stuff starts breaking. Like, say, the computer screen dying.

Also these things were built back when computers were very primitive and NASA has been very slow to introduce newer electronics (I recall hearing about them buying old Atari 2600s to upgrade to their CPUs some years ago) because modern microchips would fail when subjected to the radiation you see in outer space. The larger manufacturing processes of old CPUs make them more suitable for space use.

[rattle]

the meme goes "we can't stop here, it is bat country"... that is the joke hurf

actually...

Code: Select all

                         DUKE
            We can't stop here - this is bat
            country!

[IllvilJa]

The shuttle accelerates quite quickly up to speeds where the airflow would literally crush a fragile bat, so I think it were blown off soon after take off.

And yes, those exhaust flames from the solid rocket boosters probably doomed it. Either it were caught in the flames themselves or if it manage to go past those flames, the turbulence should have been enough.

Poor bat. Spectacular way to go but still.

Reminds me of the bird flying above a space Shuttle stack just as it were taking off, the external tank's tip hit and crushed the bird during the initial ascent (the ground cameras got pictures of it).

Other than that, the space shuttle is darn impressive. And they got the final solar wing and associated truss attached, so the ISS is now nearly 500 metric tonnes that fly in orbit... Check out this page to find out where the guy is: http://www.heavens-above.com/orbitdispl ... atid=25544.

[lurker]

Why are you so sure it was blown off?

"He did change the direction he was pointing from time to time throughout countdown, but ultimately never flew away," states a NASA memo. "Infrared imagery shows he was alive and not frozen like many would think... Liftoff imagery analysis confirmed that he held on until at least the vehicle cleared the tower before we lost sight of him."

[[TS]Lollocide]

I, for one, will welcome our new space-radiation-mutated bat overlord.

[overkill]

I prefer BLACK OVERLORD.