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Soyuz Damage May Delay Space Station Trip
SeaDour writes "As if the failed oxygen generator on the International Space Station wasn't bad enough, rumor has it that the planned launch of a Russian Soyuz capsule to change crews onboard the station may be delayed due to a mishap during ground testing. Apparently one of the small explosive bolts, used to separate sections of the capsule during landing, prematurely exploded, which means the bolts may all have to be inspected for defects. Russian space officals haven't officially confirmed any delay of the October 9 launch date, but I'm sure it's something the two astronauts on the station are thinking about as they repressurize the station with reserve air supplies."
This is kinda discouraging. I'm all in favor of manned spaceflight, but...
Until we're willing to fund not only the station but its support structure, and fund it enough to insure that there's some redundancy in systems, I think it might be time to start thinking about abandoning it in orbit for a while. What spaceflight does NOT need right now is the two sitting ducks..er, I meant crew, dying because we can't keep the structure/support up to snuff.
Boycott everything - they're all trying to fuck you one way or another
Hmm, from the links, it seems they only have oxygen canisters that would last one month. But NASA says they are in no immediate danger. Commander Gennady Padalka is confident he can clear the blockage and get the machine running again, said NASA spokesman Rob Navias. In the meantime, Padalka took spare parts and installed them in a spare oxygen generator, which could serve as a replacement if necessary So they have an extra oxygen generator, but I wonder why they don't have something like a 'RAID' system of these devices, instead of swapping parts after one of them fails.
challenger exploded from because of a poor use of statistics that made managers (and enough engineers confidentent) that a launch in super-cold weather was safe, then it was not. Quick summary, two O-Rings chance of failure was improperly determined, and thus, a launch was allowed in cold weather that lead to both O-Rings failing and thus, the fuel tanks explodering.
"I'm sure it's something the two astronauts on the station are thinking about as they repressurize the station with reserve air supplies."
Of course, if the 'worst' comes to the 'worst' the 2 astronauts use the Soyuz module which is attached to the ISS to return to Earth; they don't depend on another launch just to get back if there is a problem.
If they use the 'lifeboat' Soyuz, there are no explosive bolts to worry about there because they have already been fired.
Of course, it would put the module/lifeboat situation out of sync but that can be made up by launching a second time after the next crew goes up.
Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
comparing space flight to regular flight is not very fruitful. regular flight is not safe either,and is plagued with problems. why? because both airlines, and space programs are very cheap, and very dishonest. notice it is the same backroom of aero companies that make both types of equipment. commercial, military, and space equipment is made as cheaply as possible. this is because space orgs need lots of money to "study psychological effects of space" and other make-work schemes.
the concept of explosive bolts on spacecraft is very poor engineering. it is a good example of the disposable attitude space engineers have. it is surprising to see spacecraft that are still disposable, after all of these years. with many space (corporate welfare) agencies crying that they do not have enough money, it is unreasonable that there are no spacecraft with a service life beyond one. sending one time rockets up is a poor excuse for a space program, when i think of program, it means fleet, support, and engineering team, with real capabilities.
i guess this only goes to show, in soviet russia, the space station delays you!
Probably, slightly, you have to deal with more problems that you don't have to deal with in aircraft- vacuum, heating, radiation etc. etc.
Why does it seem that space flight is constantly plagued with problems?
Mainly because there are bugs in the vehicles, or the production line that produces the vehicles, or bugs in the way that the vehicles are being used.
The reason that the bugs are there is because every vehicle in service right now has only been launched a hundred or so times at most. Most aircraft have seen many times more launches than that during testing; and the bugs would have been removed. In addition there's more experience on how to avoid some of the bugs in the first place in aircraft- this experience has not been directly applied to launch vehicles.
If commercial space flight ever takes off, is that what will make it more reliable?
Pretty much yes, launch any vehicle enough; uncover the bugs and remove them, and you have a safe vehicle at the end of it.
How can it take off until it is more reliable?
You have to have brave people.
-WolfWithoutAClause
"Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"Or unmanned/automated flights.
Ewige Blumenkraft.
Maybe it won't be too long before we're asking if interstellar travel is really that much more difficult than flying to Mars.
ummm. i don't think we'll ever ask that. developing a faster than light spacecraft, OR a method to suspended biological process in humans for tens, hundreds, or thousands of years will be many orders of magnitude more complex than spending a few months in an intra stellar spacecraft destined for mars. not that we are in the ballpark in on that one either. "simply" going to the moon again would be a monumental task.