Hitchhikers in space ... wasn't there a book about that? An apparently injured bat was expected to simply fly away when the spacecraft gunned the engines before take-off but inexplicably clung to the outside of the ship as it made its way up. It is speculated that the bat may have been injured and unable to fly away. There was, needless to say, no sign of the bat when the Discovery docked at the International Space Station.
link
NASA officials noticed the bat before shuttle's liftoff and brought in a wildlife expert to look at video images of it. The expert said it appeared to be a free-tailed bat that probably had a broken left wing and an injured right shoulder or wrist.
link
Hopefully he wasnt exposed to cosmic rays or we may be seeing him again
poor thing.
He was at the top of the pyramid. He had the right stuff.
surly bonds slipped, stars in his
windblown little eyes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibq2IwznCgc
"I have had it with these motherf***ing bats on this motherf***ing shuttle!"
I liked that.
As for the bat, I would have chosen that as the way to go too but still - poor little guy. I hope Bat Heaven has some juicy bugs waiting for him (sinner bugs from Bug Hell obviously - where all the bugs that fly into peoples teeth on roller-coasters go).
http://www.universetoday.com/2009/03/17/the-discovery-bats-fate-is-confirmed/
"So what happened? If the bat wasn't frozen to the shuttle, why would he remain stuck on the external fuel tank? Surely he should have flown away when the shuttle powered up and vibrated before lift off? According to a NASA press release, the bat may have had little choice but to cling onto the shuttle. When the images were examined by a wildlife specialist, the conclusion was the bat may have had a broken wing, forcing him to hold on tight.
"Unfortunately, holding onto the fuel tank spelled certain doom; it is doubtful he would have been able to remain attached as the violent shaking and g-forces took hold. Although he made it as high as the launch tower, it is likely the bat dropped off and died in the searing 1400°C exhaust of the throttling boosters."
He was hanging on to the rocket boosters. They are not even attached to the shuttle and fall off before the shuttle enters orbit. The person who wrote this article really needs to do some basic simple research of the topic before hitting enter.