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NASA Builds a Cheap Standardized Space Probe
TangAddict writes "Dr. Alan Weston, who previously invented bungee jumping, led a team of scientists at NASA Ames Research Center to build a $4 million spacecraft in less than two years. The Modular Common Spacecraft Bus is designed to accept payloads of up to 50kg. and can be used for a variety of missions including a rendezvous with asteroids, orbiting Earth or Mars, and landing on the moon. When NASA officials saw the first flight test, they offered Weston and his team $80 million to use their design for the LADEE mission, which will gather dust and atmosphere samples from the moon in 2011."
I was just asking.
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
This is the first time I've heard of technology that's DESIGNED to gather dust. Usually that just happens by accident.
.... they offered Weston and his team $80 million to use their design for the LADEE mission, which will gather dust.... Well, if they're just going to let it sit around, I'll take it.How about, lets say, $20M?
I think they only count when it is humans, rather than Kiwi's.......(:
Everyone knows Kiwis don't bungee jump, they bungee fall (very different, of course) because gravity is opposite down there. Or something like that... ;)
Yes, obviously, because no matter what anyone else claims, the US of A is naturally the best. The scientists in Russia was of course FORCED to work, and the scientists in USA were happy to do it! And yeah well, maybe some other countries are technically better, but that's because USA didn't want to be better. And also it only looks like they are better, but they did it in the wrong way, and if USA would have done it the same way, USA would have been even better!
c++;
The article misquotes. You see Dr. Weston was the first to invent bungee LAUNCHING of spacecraft. On the first low-cost launch, Mission Control was heard to say "WHEEEOOOO!!!!!! What a rush!!!". On the other hand, the astronauts inside the vehicle had other words to describe the experience. As this is a family newspaper, we cannot quote them here in full. However. Dr. Weston's mother was mentioned.
Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
I hope the probe is spherical, because a globe-shaped space device designed to suck up dust would logically be called ... a Dyson Sphere.
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