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DIRECT Post-Shuttle Plan Pitched To Obama Team
FleaPlus writes "Popular Mechanics reports that a 'renegade' group including NASA engineers has met with President-Elect Obama's space transition team to present information on the DIRECT architecture for launching NASA missions after the Space Shuttle is retired. According to the group, DIRECT's Jupiter launch system will be safer, less expensive, better-performing, and be ready sooner than the Ares launch system NASA is currently developing, while still providing jobs for much of the existing shuttle workforce. Meanwhile, it's expected that current NASA head and adamant Ares supporter Michael Griffin will be replaced by a new NASA administrator."
Giffin is a bit of a dick head. And that rogue project sounded very reasonable actually.
Both of them!
How about using some of the Minuteman III ICBM's we have lying around... I'm sure we could spare a few...
A group of renegade space vehicle designers, including NASA engineers bucking their bosses, today got their chance to make their case to the next presidential administration.
So, they ride Harleys and put pocket protectors in their leather jackets? Their calculators say "Bad Mother Fucker" on them?
See what happens when you use hyperbole in descriptions?
That when they hear the name of the head of NASA they think, "Isn't that the guy who created Jeopardy?" (Admittedly the way NASA is run that would actually make sense.)
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
Of course DIRECT is "cheaper, quicker and safer" than Ares - because it is a paper project. All projects are cheaper, quicker, safer, happier, and will make your cock bigger etc etc until someone tries to implement them.
If any of the problems of developing a SDLV that have plagued Ares so far occur for Jupiter, then switching at this point will be a false economy.
If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we shoot people for Apollo-related non-sequiturs?
We seem to be really good at wasting money on Wallstreet and Auto bailouts (700 Bl). Why can't we invest a fraction of this in NASA? At least we get to see big rockets roar off of the pad. Just wait until Obama and congress start blowing their wads on domestic spending (buying votes). NASA's budget will look like a piggy bank.
Conservative, mod down for violating
I love the idea of a space elevator. It would be a tough engineering feat to construct. I wonder how difficult it would be to build one that is on the moon rather than earth? How long would it need to be? Since there is no moon atmosphere I would presume it could be much less robust.
Inquiring minds want to know.
The article's illustration includes an astonishing statement regarding the two J-2X engines: "NASA says the extra engine doubles the chance that something will fail". Wow! Applying that logic would really simplify most of our jobs. RAID? Don't waste your money; all those extra disks just increase the odds of failure.
Whoever said that leaves us with a conundrum: Does he actually believe it, in which case his academic credentials should be subjected to very close scrutiny? Or is he lying deliberately in order to protect NASA's ability to concentrate on maximizing headcount and budget, in which case someone should fire him?
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
I'm a Programmer. That's one level above Software Engineer and one level below Engineer.
Then comes the Columbia disaster and the subsequent investigation which recommended that shuttle be retired by 2010.
In 2004 Bush announces the Vision for Space Exploration clearly defining our country's goal to resume our manned exploration of the moon and Mars.
NASA conducts an extremely detailed study into literally hundreds of architecture design alternatives known as the Exploration Systems Architecture Study. It is a fantastic report - read it here. The study rejects using EELVs (due primarily to safety concerns)and recommends a shuttle-derived re-using shuttle and Apollo technology across the two launch vehicles (then called CLV and CaLV). The recommended architecture becomes the basis of the Constellation architecture. (Which later replaces Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) on the CaLV with RS-68 engines and extends teh CLV from 4-seg to 5-seg (which was actually in the original trade space). This configuration was chosen as it was both the safest configuration as well as having one of the lowest O&M costs (particularly compared with alternatives that leveraged SSMEs more heavily.) NASA is finally on a path to returning to a capability beyond LEO as well as dramatically reducing its workforce with the looming retirement of shuttle a somewhat simpler to maintain replacement
Therein lies the problem... as retirement looms and irreversible decisions begin to be made (reconfiguring pads, not-ordering certain long-lead items for shuttle, etc..) that huge workforce of shuttle support finally realize what Constellation means to their job security. Without shuttle and its extremely complex reusable sub-systems, many of these people will be out of a job and their pet projects in jeopardy.
Not surprisingly, there becomes no shortage of personnel at Shuttle-oriented NASA sites who begin advocating against Constellation and for an extension of Shuttle. Adding to the detractors are of course the disgruntled "establishment" consortium of launch providers, ULA, advocating using EELVs. Then there are the Direct guys who are brilliant NASA engineers but this concept was in essence already considered in the ESAS study and deemed less favorable than the CLV approach.
Add to the mix the political baggage that comes with the program's genesis stemming from an unpopular president and the oncoming president's commitment to "change" at all levels of government and you have a perfect storm of opposition - much of it which has absolutely nothing to do with the actual merits of the current design.
People who have not worked on Constellation simply don't understand how much work has gone into it compared with any of the above mentioned alternatives. Of course they look good now. They have been studied by small groups of engineers for months. Compare with the thousands who have been working on Constellation for years. Despite what anyone says about their program being cheaper or faster - any change at this point will result in
"It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell
* 1 Case Regular Pint size Mason Jars ( Used for canning)
* 2 Boxes Contact 12 hour time released tablets.
* 3 Bottles of Heet.
* 4 feet of surgical tubing.
* 1 Bottle of Rubbing Alchohol.
* 1 Gallon Muriatic Acid ( Used for cleaning concrete)
* 1 Gallon of Coleman's Fuel
* 1 Gallon of Aceton
* 1 Pack of Coffee Filters
* 1 Electric Skillet ( If you don't know what iam talking about i will have pics later)
* 4 Bottles Iodine Tincture 2% (don't get the declorized it won't work)
* 2 Bottles of Hydrogen peroxide
* 3 20 0z Coke Bottles (Plastic type)(with Lids/caps)
* 1 Can Red Devils Lye
* 1 Pair of sharp scissors
* 4 Boxes Book Matches (try to get the ones with brown/red striker pads)
* 1 pyrodex baking dish
* 1 Box execto razor blades single sided
* 1 digital scale that reads grams
* 2 gallons distilled water \
* 1 Roll Aluminum foil tape
That's what you would have to go buy if you wanted to make meth.
First things first -- the Iodine Crystals. Take one 20 oz, plastic Coke Bottle and pour 4 Bottles 2% tincture into it.
Add Hydrogen Peroxide to this. Use only 1/2 a bottle of Hydrogen peroxide. After this you know, the gallon jug that the Muriatic acid comes in take the cap off and fill this cap level with the acid. Add the acid to the coke bottle (Place in a freezer for at least 30 mins).
While the Iodine crystals are being made we are going to extract the Phsuedo from the Contacts. You are going to need a towel for this so go get one. Take the pills out of one box, add it to one of the mason jars fill with rubbing alchohol just enough to cover the pills let set for 3 minutes. Remove pills and take the towel and wipe the top coating off the pills this will remove the wax. Do the same with the other box of Contacts as well, after this add those wiped off pills only 10 to a clean mason jar. On top of this add 1 bottle of Heat do the same for the other box of Contact. Let theese two mason jars with pills, heat stand for 30 minutes. Then shake the jars till pills are completly broke down then let the jars sit again for 4 hours or until the Heats is completly clear . Once clear cyphon the heat off (Not the powder stuff at the Bottom you don't want this it will fuck your dope up).
Well anyway syphon the heat off with a piece of the sergical tubing syphon this into a pyrodex baking dish place in microwave on high till the heat is almost evaporated. Take out of microwave. Now plug up your electric plate set the pyrodex dish on this on about 180 deg continue evaporating till you get a white powder on the pyrodex (Carefull not the burn the phsudo if it turns yellow it's burned) after you get it dried take a razor blade and scrape this powder up. (put this asside for later use)
Now we are going to get the red phosphorus from the book matches take a pair of scissors and cut along the edge of the phosphorus do the whole four boxes of match book matches then take 1 small coffee cup will work to this coffee cup add about 1/4 the way with Acetone dip the match book strike pads into the acetone for 10 seconds this will loosen the phosphorus so it will be easier to scrape with the razor blades. ( put the phosphorus in an empty match book box to let dry. Now it's time to get the iodine crystals get a clean mason jar on top of this place 1 coffee filter and pour the contents of the iodine +muriatic+Hydrogen Peroxide into the filter ( do it slowly don't over pour) well once you get though with the filtering on top of the coffee filter will be a black substance ( This is iodine crystals) dry them by wraping in more coffee filters till you get a pretty good thick pile around the original filter place on ground and step on it to get the rest of the liquids off save this for the cook.
next take your digital scales wiegh your pills first say you had 2 grams of pill powder then weigh out an equal amount of iodin
Going to the Moon with chemical fueled rockets is like building computers with vacuum tubes. Both were done 40-50 years ago. Where would computing be now if we had relied on building better vacuum tubes rather than investing in the research the lead to the transistor?
They can pitch all they want - Obama is going to shut down NASA anyway.
anfd financial become like they
I'm not a rocket scientist, but after reviewing the various on-line resources for DIRECT and Ares, DIRECT looks like the *obvious* better way to go -- reusing (and/or slightly modifying) many existing components and facilities.
Perhaps the problem is simply that DIRECT is less expensive. As any pointy-haired boss will say, "where's the fun in that?"
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Just buy Soyuz.
Having the capsule mounted on top of the fuel tanks also tends to add extra safety. And because of the relatively low weight of these capsules, you can afford to stick extra safety equipment on them.
Yes, the capsule designs have a Launch Abort System. It's the thing that looks like a tower at the top of the stack. It is a rocket motor that can yank the capsule away from the rest of the system if something goes terribly wrong.
Why is it that I can't see that thing mentioned without immediately thinking that it will someday go horribly wrong by firing at the wrong time?
You can't take the sky from me...
The reusable launch vehicle that whose prototype was 85% assembled with 96% of the parts and the launch facility 100%? Only to be cancelled in 2001? Yeah, me neither. Oh, and it's all still there and Lockheed is still working on similar airframe prototypes, even going as far as successfuly testing 1/5th scale updated models? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-33 Why are we spending all of this money on Ares when it is riddled with problems like...say...shaking the astronauts to death on launch? Ares is a joke. If anything, we should just dig-up the Saturn V plans, take the best from it, and then build a craft that has 2009 technologies in it instead of reinventing the wheel. The whole idea of saving money by using the Shuttle SRBs has been completely negated by the fact that the ship built on that concept is a complete clusterfuck and is costing more than if we had just started over from scratch.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is supposed to have engine-out redundancy "at any stage of flight". The Saturn V rockets apparently also lost engines and completed missions. However, that doesn't help if the engine fails in a more spectacular way than just spluttering to a halt...
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
Until recent times, they could not even create a decent web site. Unable to be read by even Google. I noticed that I could not use either Linux firefox or konqi to read their site. Says a lot about their engineers if they are able to design something as simple as that.
With that aside, the one thing that bugs me about Ares * is that Ares I is in the same class as many other launch vehicles, while Ares V is the absolute monster. OTH, Direct starts with a 50% bigger launch vehicle over the ares I, and then moves up to 2/3 of the Ares V. It is possible to actually move later from the Jupiter 232 to something bigger. Basically, the idea fills more of a missed void. Interestingly, it still leaves open the use of Spacex/Orbital. The reason is that both of these will be MUCH cheaper to run than the jupiter. In addition, it is POSSIBLE for Musk to still pursue a Ares class or bigger @ a cheaper costs.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Why are we spending money on manned spacefligtht that will be ready in 15 years when if we wait 50 years, we won't be men anyway?
Apollo 18's Saturn V was used for Skylab, and the last one ended up as a lawn ornament
Caution: Do not stare into laser with remaining eye.
the NASA Transition Team should know the TRUE STORY of the (FAST-SLV-like but FOUR months LATER) "Direct" concept: http://www.ghostnasa.com/posts/033directstruestory.html