I do not in any way claim to have any expertise whatsoever concerning the US space shuttle program, but am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this damaged reentry shield?
Like I say, they have to know better than I do and it would be monumental arrogance on my part to assume to advise them, but after Columbia I assumed a better safe than sorry policy would be in order. They’re bringing her home without repairs. What do I know.
They’ve probably done it countless time before without knowing about it.
Since Columbia, they’ve been watching the shuttles like hawks from all angles. That’s why they notice all these little problems.
The damage is not in an area that will be suffering a lot of stress during reentry, unlike the one on Columbia’s wing. If they’re bring her back as is, they must be pretty damn sure the risk is minimal.
It’s high time to retire that thing and get a better space vehicle. Maybe one that looks and performs like the original one that what envisioned, before DOD “improved” the design.
Have they heard of glue? Cause if they glued that foam on the big fuel tank down…
Ok I’ll stop.
What pissed me off after the last shuttle disaster was all the pundits talking about the end of manned space exploration because it was too dangerous, too risky.
Hey, if you’re scared of the risks of space exploration, don’t fucking go. Just stay here on earth, hiding under your bed where it’s safe. I’m sure there are thousands of willing astronauts out there who would gladly accept any dangers no matter how long the odds to experience space flight, or to be the first person to walk on Mars.
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
Have they heard of glue? Cause if they glued that foam on the big fuel tank down…[/quote]
Remember when it didn’t have foam?
IIRC, they added it to reduce the formation of ice on the main tank. It used to be the falling ice shards that were dangerous. Now it’s the foam pieces.
Great example of correcting a problem by replacing it with a nearly identical one.
[quote]Ok I’ll stop.
What pissed me off after the last shuttle disaster was all the pundits talking about the end of manned space exploration because it was too dangerous, too risky.[/quote]
There is some merit to that argument. Manned expedition don’t really accomplish much more than automated ones.
If we want to explore the rest of the solar system, we don’t have much choice but to use robotic probes.
If we do keep sending men in orbit, on the ISS and on the moon, then it can be done better than it is with the Shuttle.
The most amazing thing about the Shuttle is that it still manages to do its job after going through government committee redesign multiple times. NASA engineers are good.
Sending men to Mars and back is an interesting challenge. For the much less cost and effort, we could pepper the solar system with probes and probably learn a lot more.
Pookie,
How are we supposed to exploit the alien homeworlds and leech all thier natural resources with probes. we need to personally be there to whip them and scare them with our goofy futuristic outfits and high tech equipment.
Does anyone wonder if in fact we could possibly be the first group of beings to travel to other worlds. What if all our fears about a race of alien scavangers coming to earth and sucking the planet dry of all resources while enslaving the population is a fear of our own future.
Ok just kidding but really Probes now, and in another 10-20 years we should be able to engineer and construct a reusable space vehicle that is far more efficient and can travel multiples faster for much less cost.
V
[quote]pookie wrote:
<<<
Sending men to Mars and back is an interesting challenge. For the much less cost and effort, we could pepper the solar system with probes and probably learn a lot more.
[/quote]
You sound like somebody who knows that the US has probes all over the solar system already including one on the way to Pluto, whatever you decide to call it anymore, planet, dwarf planet, relatively small hunk of mass that moves like a planet etc.
Probes, while educational and nifty with all the close up cosmic photo ops they provide, are just not as cool as sending people.
[quote]Vegita wrote:
<<< in another 10-20 years we should be able to engineer and construct a reusable space vehicle that is far more efficient and can travel multiples faster for much less cost.
V[/quote]
Depending on where you’re going multiples faster still ain’t fast enough even with ion driven vehicles.
[quote]Vegita wrote:
Pookie,
How are we supposed to exploit the alien homeworlds and leech all thier natural resources with probes. we need to personally be there to whip them and scare them with our goofy futuristic outfits and high tech equipment. [/quote]
We need to find intelligent life first, before we can terrorize them.
Assuming that most of the universe is uninhabited, a fairly safe bet I’d say, there shouldn’t be too much fighting over resources.
It should be a good while before we start running out of galaxies to suck dry.
Just saying it is not enough. If we’re going to go faster, we have to figure out how. Just because a lot of Earthly technology is getting better (actually, it’s mostly getting smaller), doesn’t mean that breakthroughs will magically happen to solve our problems.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
You sound like somebody who knows that the US has probes all over the solar system already including one on the way to Pluto, whatever you decide to call it anymore, planet, dwarf planet, relatively small hunk of mass that moves like a planet etc.[/quote]
There aren’t really that many probes going around.
Between them, Jupiter and Saturn have over 120 moons. If you’re going to go check out each one, it’ll be a lot more efficient to send probes first.
If a few prove to be particularly interesting later, then you can go for a manned mission.
As cool as it is, sending people is a lot harder.
First, I’d guess that most want to come back. So if you send someone to Mars, he either has to have a way of getting fuel there for the trip back, or he has to bring his return fuel with him. That adds a lot of weight.
And probes don’t need water, air, a nice comfy temperature, etc. Whoever you send need to bring his environment along with him. If it’s six month to go and six months back to Mars, you need 1 year worth of food per person you send.
You also have to shield them a lot better against space radiation; adding still more weight to the whole thing. You have to get them safely down to Mars. Mars has a lot more gravity than the Moon. It also has atmosphere, not much, but enough for it to be a problem for entry.
Then there are the psychological factors of being cooped up in a small space for months at a time, either alone or in a small group. Can you keep them busy enough that they don’t end up killing each other on the way there?
Any accident along the way has to be provided for. Ultimately, you need so many backups that you almost end up bring along a second ship… yet more cost. If you don’t, then you’re hoping for a multi-year space mission where nothing ever goes wrong. Just look at how many Mars probe NASA has lost over the years. Imagine if there had been a crew on each of them…
I like the romantic idea of visiting each planet and traveling to the stars. But at our current technology level, and with the budgets we’re willing to devote to it, space travel is best left to automatic machines for now.
And probes can do a lot more than just photo ops.
[quote]pookie wrote:
<<<
As cool as it is, sending people is a lot harder.
<<<>>>
And probes can do a lot more than just photo ops.
[/quote]
I fully agree with every syllable you just wrote and was actually familiar these facts already. I was merely quipping and yes even the probes we have now do much more than just take pictures. There is no way we could send human beings on these immensely long and complex voyages (forget about expensive) that we are not even able to return the probes from at this time.
I also agree that intensive pre-probing is necessary. The fact does remain though that probes are just plain not as cool as a live (albeit time delayed) interview from Charon and we will not be able to resist trying it once the logistics are realized which I doubt will be in the lifetime of anyone reading this.