Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Shuttle Atlantis Launched Without Incident

Posted by Zonk on from the up-up-and-away dept.

forkazoo writes "Space.com is reporting the successful launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. There were no major incidents or problems during the launch, except that there was some concern about the weather at the two European abort landing sites. The weather cleared up and the launch was pretty much perfect. 'Preliminary analysis of images taken by onboard cameras revealed expected "popcorning" foam loss during ascent but none that appeared to strike the orbiter. NASA has kept a close watch on the shedding of fuel tank foam insulation during shuttle launches since the 2003 Columbia accident, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts, and made modifications to reduce the amount of debris shed during liftoffs.' The launch was broadcast live NASA TV stream."

10 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Sad. by DAldredge · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is sad that a Shuttle launching with no problems is major news.

    1. Re:Sad. by ronadams · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A shuttle launch is an amazing work of technology. So, no, it's really great that it's major news. [flamebait answer]What's wrong? Not enough carnage or NASCAR for you?[/flamebait answer]

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
    2. Re:Sad. by DAldredge · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It is sad in that it is now June and this is the first launch of the year. Such lauches should be such a common occurance that they aren't great and/or amazing news. That is what is sad in all this.

    3. Re:Sad. by mh1997 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Such lauches should be such a common occurance that they aren't great and/or amazing news. That is what is sad in all this.
      The launches may not be a very common occurrence, but they are common enough that while watching it with my daughter on HDnet, she was bored because according to her, it was "the same old thing."

      When the launches would bore me, we'll have made real progress in space flight.

    4. Re:Sad. by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's the most complex machine ever made.

      That's NASA propaganda. A nuclear submarine or an aircraft carrier is complex - the Shuttle is a child's toy in comparison.
  2. Why did the foam become an issue only this decade? by NevDull · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is it only me wondering why the foam thing wasn't a problem in the 80s and 90s, and then after it came up as an issue, the people who pulled off some fantastic stuff with the Mars rovers are surprised when they don't have a problem with the foam, and everything is so tenuous?

  3. Re:foam of doom inside the tank by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...wouldn't it be safer/smarter to have it INSIDE the tank its self? The problem is, I think, simply a decrease in volume for fuel. The tank has two separate sub-tanks ( H2 plus LOX, plus a third section for control stuff ). Each one would have to be lined. They would probably want to line the third compartment too to prevent stresses from unequal thermal expansion.
    Then there is also the problem of foam acting chemically with the fuel or oxidizer. It now needs a liner. That is a lot of volume, and now the shuttle does not have enough room for fuel and oxidizer.

    Anyway, that's my best guess.
  4. Re:foam of doom inside the tank by Odo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > The problem is, I think, simply a decrease in volume for fuel.
    [...]
    > Then there is also the problem of foam acting chemically with the fuel or oxidizer.
    [...]
    > Anyway, that's my best guess.

    Good guesses. Reality is stranger.

    The tank is made of aluminum alloy. Very thin metal. At supersonic speeds, the tank would heat up. The increased temperature would cause the walls to become weaker, and the tank would buckle and rupture. By putting the insulation on the outside, they keep the metal of the tank walls super-cooled. Neat idea. The Delta rockets do the same thing.

    Another reason is that if you think foam falling off the outside of the tank is bad, just imagine what foam falling off the inside would do. yup, it would get sucked through the engines. The turbopumps which inject fuel into the main engines are high-energy bombs, just waiting for an excuse to fly apart. So rockets (like Atlas and Saturn) with internal insulation require filters on the fuel lines to make sure they don't ingest any foam.

  5. Re:nasa by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We weren't always the pathetically-risk-averse society you know as a young person.

    In my great-grandparents' lifetime, they probably saw seven people die of dysentery on the boat over to America, and you know what? They got over it. (My great-grandparents, not the dysentery victims.) Losing a space shuttle now and again wouldn't have distracted Grandpa Joe from his craps game.

    If we lose that tolerance for risk altogether, we're done as a species.

  6. Re:Wow by ScottyKUtah · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The best part of the NASA TV coverage is no idiotic commentary from the news stations. FOX, CNN, MSNBC, etc all figure that they have to talk over the NASA Public Affairs officials to explain what's going on. If they would just shut up, we could actually listen and figure it out for ourselves. It was a good launch, now I'm looking forward to the HD video.

    --
    He who laughs last is at 300 baud.