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Shuttle Surface More Vulnerable Than Suspected
Ant writes "The space shuttle's skin is turning out to be even more fragile than NASA engineers thought, its scientists and engineers say. Impact tests and analysis performed as part of the return-to-flight effort show that pieces of insulating foam that weigh less than half an ounce can cause small cracks and damage to the surface coating on the heat-resistant panels on the leading edge of the wing, agency officials said in interviews this week."
Sounds like this could cause another nasty delay in getting the fleet back in orbit. Weren't they supposed to resume flights in the somewhat-near future?
Since the skin of the shuttle itself, the tiles, have undergone extensive testing in development, I wonder if this new finding is an original condition, or the result of aging?
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
space witches have been putting hexes on the shuttle. Bibbidy bobbidy boo!
Well, so much for that asteroid-womprat-bullseyeing mission they were planning for April, then...
I think it's time to get this shuttle show back on the road. NASA will never be able to fix all of the problems; there are just too many ways a shuttle can explode on launch or burn up on re-entry. Somehow, I don't think that's ever caused NASA any problems with recruiting new astronauts.
Meanwhile, there's an unfinished space station up there, a dying orbital observatory, and a lot of scientific research that has been put on hold. The shuttle should be returned to flight ASAP and it should be used until NASA or private industry can build an adequate replacement.
Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
Sounds like it's time to look for a better material for the wing edges. Something less brittle. Of course, I'm sure they haven't thought of that option already :)
Let me say again, this is NOTHING like dropping the pink-panther stuff out of your second story window and breaking a ceramic dinner plate that you left on the ground.
Upstairs Dog, Downstairs People.
Does it have windows?
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
This would imply over 80 missions have been flown without informaton as to what extent impacts to the tiles would damage them?
I know the shuttle flies with the engines facing prograde while on orbit to minimise the risk of orbital debris, so you would expect the chance of impact to be small. Still I would have thought if there is a chance an analysis would have been done.
Come on! You're NASA for Christ's sake! You're the ones who come up with this shit! Why I bet you have a bunch of guys sitting around somewhere right now just thinking shit up, and somebody backing them up.
Materials science, airframe design, computational testing and avionics have come a very long way since the shuttles were first conceived, designed and flown (the shuttle program was started in 1972, and it first flew in 1981). And then it was designed by commitee - it had so many goals that it didn't hit any of them. If I remember correctly: NASA wanted it to carry cargo to space stations (practical and forward-thinking), the government wanted it to carry people (manned space travel is glamorous), the military wanted it to be self-sustained and able to launch military payloads (what else?) with no external help on top-secret missions - which also means able to launch payloads to geosyncronous orbits, etc.
And it all adds up to something that's more of a compromise than a solution. Even when it was new, the shuttle wasn't very good at anything. It was too heavy, too complicated and had capabilities that were too limited.
It's the sort of complications cause by simply maintaining the shuttle (such as the tiles) that make a strong case for simply scrapping the existing shuttle. The efforts, energy and money should be spent on a replacement - and a sane replacement.
For example, modern metal alloys and fabrication techniques can construct spacecraft hulls that are light, strong, and can directly withstand the heat of re-entry. No ceramic tiles are needed - it's inefficient to keep fixing them when they should be replaced and the shuttles retired to a museum
(Or the slightly mad Star Trek solution: re-fit them, then send them up as salvage barges for an orbital dockyard, never to re-enter the atmosphere again).
This is a kluge, made by the lowest bidder that would build facilities in favored politicians districts, hamstrung by bureaucrats and inane regulation at every turn. The design was loaded with "everything for everyone" until it was a miracle that if flew at all.
I admire the individual scientists and engineers that could make progress in this environment. No wonder they burn out at such a rate.
Scrap the entire system, sell off NASA to the highest bidders, and have done with it. Putting more lives at risk on those craft is pointless. Any private effort wouldn't be able to afford the liability insurance for craft like those, aren't you glad it's your tax money being spent to kill people instead?
If there is overwhelming support for such efforts, there is no need for taxes to taken at gun point to fund them. If the programs do not have such public support, there is no mandate for government to be doing it in the first place.
Bob-
The Ludwig von Mises Institute. The reasoning individuals economics
Wouldn't painting the main fuel tank (like they used to do) create a smoother surface and make it less likely for ice to stick to the craft in the first place? If you have less ice falling on the craft it's probably healthier.
I know, the paint weights 600 pounds... but at least it survives. Spray it down with lard, even, if that works better, something to smooth and hydrophob the surface.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Also this part was quite funny:
What about just dropping them on? This was the problem after all.
- what is Aerogel
- where is the foam used and why. Is evacuated perlite used in the annular space for the cryo tanks?
Basic ignorant questions, I'm just asking.