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Discovery Set to Launch July 13
An anonymous reader writes "The US space shuttle is set to launch July 13 for the first time in nearly two and a half years, after being grounded following the 2003 Columbia disaster, NASA said today. NASA experts held a final 'flight readiness review' meeting on Wednesday and Thursday to make a final decision."
What about the fact that NASA failed to meet three vital safety recomendations Tuesday?
I mean granted, I'm sure they know what they are doing but what happens if we lose Discovery too? We haven't launched in over two years due to Columbia blowing up and I can't even imagine what would happen to the space program if we lost Discovery. Even more so if it is because of one of the failed safety checks.
From my link:
The panel said that NASA had failed to satisfactorily eliminate losses of foam and ice from the shuttle's external fuel tank. Additionally, the agency could not adequately strengthen areas of the spacecraft that are at risk of being damaged by the impact of stray debris. The astronauts who are a part of the return to flight mission did not have reliable repair kits, the panel pointed out.
I'm a virgo and on Slashdot. Coincidence? Yes.
To do a pre-return check of the bottom of the shuttle- especially given that this would be very easy to do with a small disposable wireless camera bot in zero gravity, or even with longer tethers on space suits in the cargo area. Seems like less than an $800 investment could mean so much....
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
july 13? this cant be good.
We vacationed every summer in FL. It was always part of the trip to visit Cape Canaveral (Cape Kennedy). I have fond memories of it. Hot faced from too much sun, beach clothes and sandals, and seeing those incredible rockets towering into the sky as my dad drove us onto the compound. Little did I know of the history, for I was born in 1968 and at the time was a child. My dad was really into it and took all the time to explain the details of the thing. To me, he was everything, and so was my country. He bought me a Space Shuttle model, and I remember clearly the towering building wherein it all was assembled -- labeled with our nation's flag. I remember the juggernaut machine that traveled at one or two miles an hour which moved the rockets into place. I remember the launch pad, the museum displaying the Apollo crafts and astronaut suits. My dad took lots of pictures. He taught me to believe in our country and in its projects. There was so much pride in me then. I was proud of my dad, our country, our achievements.
My dad is gone now, and I'm not sure what he would think about things now. I think he would be sad. We have angered countries, lost landmarks and shuttles have fallen. I would not want him to know these things, and I bear them now in his memory, but maybe, just maybe, we can regain our standing as a nation and in space....
"All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
Couldn't they have picked a date other than the 13th? At least it ain't a Friday. No, I'm not superstitious or nothing like that.... honest.
I'm going to be on vacation within sight range then ... this just made my vacation! (and it's even *gasp* worth ripping myself away from a computer for a week!)
I am Spartacus
What should we do?
Raise the deflector shields, or cover the shuttle with inanimate carbon rods?
liqbase
They were going to leave on July 4th, but someone pointed out the space highways would be crowded then, and liquid NOX prices would be higher.
So they decided to go surfing for a week before, to beat the crowds.
Will in Seattle
...more immediately and IMO more interestingly, Deep Impact is going to do its stuff in about 4 days.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Whatever (if anything) ruins the next shuttle, it will likely be not be the same thing, that caused any of the earlier disasters.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Its quite strange. Most of the major news agencys reported recently that NASA had confirmed that the Shuttle could be launched in July, as it was within an "acceptable" bracket of safety.
Yet less than a week later, the same news networks were saying that a major commission had concluded that NASA infact hadn't met their targets, lumped with a whole lot of criticism of the space agency as a whole, too.
But as this topic confirms the launch will go ahead apparantly regardless of what this commission found? I wondered if anyone could clarify the situation at large? (I'm not trolling or anything here, just geniunely puzzled about the table of events leading up to Discovery's launch.)
Why doesn't anyone ever seem to realize that all of the scientific advancements that have come through manned spaceflight have come at a risk? Astronauts are strapped into a rocket capable of accelerating the space shuttle (no small object) to 10.7 km/s, many miles in the air (above the atmosphere) and then have to re-enter the atmosphere and land safely after slowing down from many times the speed of sound. With manned space flight, sh-I mean bad stuff has got to happen, and it's a wonder that more hasn't gone wrong.
Why are they launching on Friday The 13th? (Yes, it's Wednesday but the Bloom County kid freaked on the 13th of every month.) Anyway, it wasn't so bad for Apollo 13. :P
1. For a throwaway, relatively cheap silver shavings and hydrogen peroxide will do enough to push it away from the shuttle- and manuver it in the right direction. Remember, you don't neccessarily need to get it back to get the pictures.
2. The thrusters can do this job relatively well, IF you have a high enough resolution camera so that when it's far enough away you can still get a good enough digital picture back to get the whole bottom of the orbiter.
3. Camera and optics is the cheap part- an 8 megapixel digital camera will do the job nicely.
4. Also well proven off-the-shelf technology at this point- so well proven that you've got that much in $200 worth of equipment from Fry's.
5. That's not so hard at all- we've been building small sattelites that work in LEO for nearly 50 years now, also off-the-shelf parts.
Here's two you failed to mention- not completely insurmountable, but enough that the extension boom on the canadarm is a better choice:
6. Getting a radio signal through the faraday cage that is the underside of the shuttle (hint- need to find and choose the correct set of frequencies for the 8 channels that you'd need- 6 for manuvering, 1 for camera control, 1 return to get the picture back). The arm is wired control, less flakey than RF.
7. It's possible that a bot will miss a slight flaw less than 1 pixel in size when taking a picture of the entire bottom of the shuttle- where the arm can do an up-close inspection.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Space Shuttle Discovery has become too much like the Discovery Channel- too much Monster Garage and not enough Physics. Look at picture number 4. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?type =ss&launch=7587438,6955261
most shuttle missions have seven crewmembers. that's a lot more than mercury/gemini/apollo.
Then don't get off the ground. End of story. This industry will always have risk, and the question is are they brought down to an acceptable level. We've done numerous tests on the ET foam, we've redesigned the bipod area, we've replaced the stuff with heaters. We've developed a boon for detection of cracks, we've developed a tile repair kit and goo to do an EVA tile patch up. We've also developed a rescue plan in the event none of these things have helped. We've gone a long way, and we've done a hell of a lot of stuff to make this program safer. The risk level is acceptable. Otherwise, none of those 7 astronauts would be willing to fly on that thing. We're ready to fly.
sigh. Is it really necessary to point it out?
More people have died, but the shuttle program has lasted much, much longer than any of the previous programs and has flown many more times than all the other manned missions combined.
So (# deaths)/(length of program) is lower, and (# deaths)/(# flights) is lower, thus making it safer on average than any of the previous projects.
Maybe not
A hundred probes a year? A thousand, if we mass produced them?
I hate NASA and the culture of "we must put people in space no matter how wasteful and useless it is."
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
If I was a bookie, I'd be taking bets on these guys coming back alive. The Space Shuttle is still a flying death trap.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
July 4: Deep Impact hits comet Temple1BRBR July 13: Shuttle Launches
July 15: Temple 1 hits shuttle
Some good things are associated with 13!!!
Nobody died in Apollo 13.
When I moved to Florida one of my friends gave me the number. It's great for knowing when to watch for a launch here--not just shuttles, but any launch from Kennedy Space Center.
:)
If you call you'll hear in the first 10 seconds of the recorded message that the launch is currently targeted for July 13th. The message said the same as last time I checked a week or two ago.
Definately a handy number to have
1-800-KSC-INFO for anyone that didn't see the subject.
From TFA:
"We honestly believe this is the cleanest flight we have ever done. The only other flight that will be cleaner is the next flight," he added.
That gives me an idea for a sure-fire space program that will enjoy the full support of the American public:
Create two teams each comprised of a combination of rocket scientists and washed-up hollywood celebrities. Pit them against each other in a battle to create the next manned space launch system. . .
Not quite what I was expecting, which is: "Who will be voted out the airlock THIS week?!?!?!"
Tag lost or not installed.
Suppose you were invited to be on Earth's first manned mission to Mars. Assume that the chance of returning to Earth alive is less than 100%. How low of a chance of return would you be willing to take: 90%, 50%, 10%, maybe even 0%? If I were given odds of 80% to get there, and 1% to get back, I wouldn't hesitate to go. Heck, I might even go at 0% to get back.
(The following is from a slashdot story I've tried submitting variations on a few times over the past few days, which has gotten rejected repeatedly for whatever reason. Since it's relevant to the topic of what NASA's planning on doing once the shuttle is retired, I'm posting it here)
At a recent talk, Michael Griffin outlined NASA's plans for helping to generate a robust and competitive commercial market in orbital spaceflight. The speech and Q&A transcripts from the talk are available. In a move reminiscent of the US government kickstarting the early airline industry by purchasing airmail services, NASA plans on purchasing cargo delivery services to the International Space Station from commercial providers, followed by crew transportation after the systems have proven themselves. Unlike traditional government contracts, sellers wouldn't see a profit before the services are delivered and the emphasis will be on actual performance instead of process and specifications. Non-traditional space companies such as SpaceX and t/Space have found Griffin's remarks encouraging, and Aviation Week has some commentary.
Some of you guys might be missing the point. The launch is on July 13. July, which just so happens to be the lucky number 7th month of the year, and day 13, good old chief unlucky. NASA sure is crafty these days. Take it from someone who was born on that goofy ass day, it's both a blessing and a curse.
If the worry is about foam banging into the shuttle, then a concentric system of interconnected collapsible steel wire fences could help. Not that it will keep foam from hitting the shuttle, it could be travelling way too fast -- the idea is to slow it down and reduce the spin rate so the worst of the damage is avoided.
(Then again, why bother adding more systems to the shuttle at all, since it is going to be replaced by something that will be placed at the top of a rocket -- out of reach of projectiles. The idea of launching cargo on cheap if risky launch platforms and people separately on safety-optimized vehicles is a far saner approach.)
No, I'm not superstitious or nothing like that.... honest.
:- D
Don't you know it's Bad Luck to be superstitious?
(I'm only sub-stitious, myself, but I know some people who are HYPER-stitious...)
--
8. Design to ensure that the damn camera-bot doesn't impact the orbiter and cause it's own damage.
But someone was supposed to get a real bad case of Measles, right?
I tried to think of a good sig, and this wasn't it.