Bustem' Down
Give Peas a Chance
So they've grounded the Shuttle again. It's good to be safe, but I really get into the whole space flight thing and was really getting into the return to flight.
NASA grounded again
- Thread starter Bustem' Down
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Hessian
Well-Known Member
We now can trace the origin of the problem
a)"During the STS-87 mission, there was a change made on the external tank," said the report. "Because of NASA's goal to use environmentally friendly products, a new method of 'foaming' the external tank had been used for this mission and the STS-86 mission. It is suspected that large amounts of foam separated from the external tank and impacted the orbiter. This caused significant damage to the protective tiles of the orbiter."
and...
b)"Seconds after the engines began lifting the craft off of Pad 39B, Discovery killed a bird."
source:http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45483
So...while trying to be environmentally friendly (while creating a 700 mile plume of aluminum oxide smoke)...Nasa has managed to kill a bird (Peta is already petitoning to put those ultra-sonic animal spooking front bumper thingys on the next shuttle) and despite an attempt to be "earth friendly" with their tiles...they won't be able to get an inspection sticker from MVA because of loose foam.
Man, NASA just can't get a break.
It also seems that the larger portiuon of this mission was to be spent...inspecting the shuttle to see if its alright. Remind's me of my father in law who drives down from Maine to get here, then spends three days working and tinkering on the car (no site-seeing mind you) just to drive it back.
What kind of patch did they make for this mission? The shuttle in front of a Jiffy Lube?
a)"During the STS-87 mission, there was a change made on the external tank," said the report. "Because of NASA's goal to use environmentally friendly products, a new method of 'foaming' the external tank had been used for this mission and the STS-86 mission. It is suspected that large amounts of foam separated from the external tank and impacted the orbiter. This caused significant damage to the protective tiles of the orbiter."
and...
b)"Seconds after the engines began lifting the craft off of Pad 39B, Discovery killed a bird."
source:http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45483
So...while trying to be environmentally friendly (while creating a 700 mile plume of aluminum oxide smoke)...Nasa has managed to kill a bird (Peta is already petitoning to put those ultra-sonic animal spooking front bumper thingys on the next shuttle) and despite an attempt to be "earth friendly" with their tiles...they won't be able to get an inspection sticker from MVA because of loose foam.
Man, NASA just can't get a break.
It also seems that the larger portiuon of this mission was to be spent...inspecting the shuttle to see if its alright. Remind's me of my father in law who drives down from Maine to get here, then spends three days working and tinkering on the car (no site-seeing mind you) just to drive it back.
What kind of patch did they make for this mission? The shuttle in front of a Jiffy Lube?
Hessian
Well-Known Member
Some kids I miss as they move on, some kids demonstrate that school is just not their thing, some...I don't have to have because we boot them out (unlike public school).
However...this shuttle mission: can it be compared to a Naval Shakedown cruise? From what I've read,....the mission objectives do not seem especially scientific ...or crucial. This will go down as one of the most photographed launches, & flights, overly scrutinized...of an ship that is facing retirement in a program that is facing retirement, sponsored by an organization that can't wait to get back to the moon in 2015.
Now I know RR you have a heart and soul dedicated to space. But you are also practical. Do you think the space station is really worth it? Do you have any raw figures as to the cost? Shouldn't we be spending more on gathering intell (from space)...intercepting info from watching North Korea & Iran, and intercepting inbound missles? (I mean 75% success is good, but its only a C in my classroom.)
I did watch the Shuttle launch...it was amazing how fast it accelerates. I am very glad their was no incident. I wish them luck in their return.
I just wish we had better priorities.
However...this shuttle mission: can it be compared to a Naval Shakedown cruise? From what I've read,....the mission objectives do not seem especially scientific ...or crucial. This will go down as one of the most photographed launches, & flights, overly scrutinized...of an ship that is facing retirement in a program that is facing retirement, sponsored by an organization that can't wait to get back to the moon in 2015.
Now I know RR you have a heart and soul dedicated to space. But you are also practical. Do you think the space station is really worth it? Do you have any raw figures as to the cost? Shouldn't we be spending more on gathering intell (from space)...intercepting info from watching North Korea & Iran, and intercepting inbound missles? (I mean 75% success is good, but its only a C in my classroom.)
I did watch the Shuttle launch...it was amazing how fast it accelerates. I am very glad their was no incident. I wish them luck in their return.
I just wish we had better priorities.
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Bustem' Down
Give Peas a Chance
Zero gravity medical research is good enough of a priority for me. Not to mention all of the physical science reaserch. I'd rather not go back to the middle ages where the pursuit of knowledge was discarded.Hessian said:
Hessian
Well-Known Member
This just in...(http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBZ31KJPBE.html)
But James Van Allen, a retired physicist who advised NASA and did research on unmanned flights, said the grounding just reinforces his longtime view that the shuttle buys precious little scientific knowledge - for a ton of money.
"It's a vastly difficult effort with almost no significant purpose," he said.
(I don't believe in smoking mind altering substances...and apparently Mr Van Allen was thinking in the same direction)
But James Van Allen, a retired physicist who advised NASA and did research on unmanned flights, said the grounding just reinforces his longtime view that the shuttle buys precious little scientific knowledge - for a ton of money.
"It's a vastly difficult effort with almost no significant purpose," he said.
(I don't believe in smoking mind altering substances...and apparently Mr Van Allen was thinking in the same direction)
B
brownjunk
Guest
Please tell me.
I've always been an advocate of NASA. A few weeks ago, a co-worker asked me what the space shuttle has done for us. I couldn't answer, so I looked it up on NASA's website. I see nothing that has helped society, and I see nothing that will.
Don't get me wrong, I believe that our space programs helped to win the cold war, which made them invaluable. But what do they do for us now?
Tom Hanks was recently quoted saying that we need to go to space because we are too crowded on Earth. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to make Earth better? Is it harder to make the Sahara livable than to build a space station?
If anyone can give me a solid reason that spaceflight is still valuable, please tell me.
I've always been an advocate of NASA. A few weeks ago, a co-worker asked me what the space shuttle has done for us. I couldn't answer, so I looked it up on NASA's website. I see nothing that has helped society, and I see nothing that will.
Don't get me wrong, I believe that our space programs helped to win the cold war, which made them invaluable. But what do they do for us now?
Tom Hanks was recently quoted saying that we need to go to space because we are too crowded on Earth. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to make Earth better? Is it harder to make the Sahara livable than to build a space station?
If anyone can give me a solid reason that spaceflight is still valuable, please tell me.
Railroad
Routinely Derailed
You folks are smart - research it yourselves, if you can do so impartially. I don't have time to go research every question people ask. This is almost as bad as logging on here to ask for a phone number of a local business that's listed in the phone book. I get paid very well to do lots of things for the Navy, research being one of them. You can't afford my services, and I have to get my wife up to Johns-Hopkins this morning, so do it yourself.