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Space Shuttle Endeavour Blasts Off On Final Flight

Velcroman1 writes "Space shuttle Endeavour rocketed into space Monday morning from Kennedy Space Center, led by mission commander Mark Kelly on the final mission for the youngest vehicle in the space fleet. Over 6 million pounds of thrust from the shuttle's rocket booster carried Endeavour into orbit, at speeds of up to 19,000 miles per hour, for an expected meeting with the International Space Station on Wednesday. 'It's incredible how you can see this machine hurled into space like the fastest fastball ever thrown, going to Mach 25 — 25 times the speed of sound — and it's an incredible race to orbit,' former NASA astronaut Tom Jones said. 'It's one of the greatest physical sensations an human can experience,' he added."

21 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. First... by webmistressrachel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Let's design an open-source reusable spacecraft which can reach orbit.

    Second...

    Let's implement the space elevator, allowing materials and people to get to orbit cheaply.

    Third...

    Build a spacecraft on an unprecedented scale, in-orbit, using the space elevator. Use that to expand physics research and propulsion systems.

    Fourth...

    Star Trek...

    And you all thought that was gonna say "Post". Haha.

    --
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    1. Re:First... by webmistressrachel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You know what, if capitalism and greed weren't the norm, we could implement those ideas too. (except the BJ. But if you help me, I might help you...)

      There really is enough material resources and labour to do those things, but at the moment they're feeding the top 1% of society instead of advancing technology. The space program hasn't evolved at all since the 80's, the zero-g science we were promised from the ISS has only just started, and we're all head-over-heels about two neverending wars that only happened due to Bush's family's greed.

      The biggest problem for people like me is apathetic people like you, who lazily make sarcastic comments like this, preventing the masses from realising they CAN make a difference, and overthrowing those who shouldn't be in power, but are.

      --
      This tagline was transcoded to result in at least one smirk. If you experience failure to smirk, please consult your Gen
    2. Re:First... by kestasjk · · Score: 2

      I'm not apathetic; I find it laughable and counterproductive that people like you come along and spew out a bunch of wild ideas with no plan or research to back them up, no motivation to make it happen, but rather just coming along and asking "why hasn't someone else made this happened yet? Oh it must be because of that one person who most people agree did a bad job."

      What about the economics of it, what about the ROI of a space elevator, what materials will it be made out of, what is the timeline, could the money be better used elsewhere, if it's profitable why hasn't private enterprise done it, what the hell do you know about space engineering?
      None of these questions do you want the answers to, because it's much more fun to sit around, whine, and post a list of massive projects as if it's some kind of plan or original thinking.

      As for "overthrowing those who shouldn't be in power" .. go for it.. Fight the power webmistressrachel!

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      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    3. Re:First... by amliebsch · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Capitalism is not the enemy of progress. It is what creates the surpluses that make spending on progress possible. Nobody is going to spend money on a space elevator if they are worried about having enough food to make it through the winter.

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      If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
    4. Re:First... by Skater · · Score: 2

      First, I've been wondering, what is the difference is between a "tip" and a "protip"?

      On topic, though: kestasjk wasn't condescending at all. He or she was right on target. It's easy to sit on Slashdot and say what should be done. Much harder to actually accomplish something and do it. It's like writing a letter to the editor - it makes you feel like you've accomplished something, but precisely WHAT have you accomplished?

  2. Fastest fast ball ever? by gstoddart · · Score: 2

    Does

    final mission for the youngest vehicle in the space fleet.hurled into space like the fastest fastball ever thrown, going to Mach 25 â" 25 times the speed of sound

    mean that this shuttle launch was actually faster than all previous launches? Or is this merely a way of saying "it's really fast".

    Is this actually a story, or an anecdote? There is no F'ing A.

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    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Fastest fast ball ever? by Joce640k · · Score: 2

      Made me cringe, too, I think it was written by a Luddite who fancies himself as a "writer".

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      No sig today...
    2. Re:Fastest fast ball ever? by Cytotoxic · · Score: 2

      Yeah, really bad hyperbole. As spacecraft go, low earth orbit isn't all that fast either. The folks who walked on the moon went a fair bit faster than Mach 25 (17,500 mph). And that's not even a blip on the 17 km/s that Voyager I is coasting along at. That's 163,198.8 mph for those who are metric-challenged.

      A really good fastball travels at 100mph. Using that as an analogy for something going 175 times faster is a bit inadequate. And using that as a superlative in a world where "fast" is 10x faster than your fastball....

  3. Re:Lobster for breakfast as a last meal? by plover · · Score: 4, Interesting

    3 of the astronauts had lobster for breakfast, maybe they thought it may well be their last meal on Earth?

    They're off for a week or two of such gastronomic delights as freeze-dried spaghetti, freeze-dried chicken, and peanut butter in a squeeze tube. I'll forgive them for not wanting to depart on a stomach full of freeze-dried Eggo waffles.

    --
    John
  4. Re:Lobster for breakfast as a last meal? by Vectormatic · · Score: 2

    Still, they are every-frickin-where. Here in Utrecht (big city in the netherlands), there are billboards all over the train station about how the 21st is going to be judgement day and how we should call to god (including a big "the bible guarantuees it" sticker)

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    People, what a bunch of bastards
  5. So long and thanks for all the fish by TimeElf1 · · Score: 2

    That's all she wrote till 2016 barring more budget cuts. It's the passing of a era it makes me rather sad.

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    Cannot find REALITY.SYS. Universe halted.
    1. Re:So long and thanks for all the fish by StoneCrusher · · Score: 2
      "STS-335, the rescue mission that would fly only if needed to bring home the members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission, currently the final scheduled shuttle flight. "

      http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/sep/HQ_10-222_LON_Annc.html

    2. Re:So long and thanks for all the fish by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 2

      No, STS-135 (Atlantis) will fly.
      "The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 directs NASA to conduct the STS-135 mission. The Space Shuttle Program has added the mission to the manifest to prepare for a potential target launch date of June 28.

      Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station."

  6. Re:Waste of taxpayer $$$ by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's a drop in the ocean compared to the trillions being spent on wars and CEO bonuses^W^Windustry bailouts.

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    No sig today...
  7. High fiber is the LAST thing you want.... by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 5, Informative

    Fiber is largely indigestible, and comes out the other end in large amounts. That's why it is needed to maintain regularity, afterall. If you are trying to minimize the need for bowel movements, what you want is a "low residue" meal, high on protein, with little to no fiber. The protein gets digested and absorbed, leaving very little to be eliminated.

    The traditional launch day breakfast from Mercury through Apollo was always steak and eggs, specifically chosen for the reasons above.

    --
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  8. Re:Here's how it went where we were by Cytotoxic · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My "wow, shuttle launches are amazing" moment happened during a night launch. We were listening to the radio broadcast while watching from the causeway. As they ticked off the milestones and speeds, we watched it transform into a brilliant white star slowly descending over the Atlantic Ocean. It was still well above the horizon and bright in the sky when the NASA announcer told us the shuttle was "now passing over the horn of Africa".

    That was a "wow" moment.

  9. Re:Waste of taxpayer $$$ by Monchanger · · Score: 2

    As you yourself pointed out one sentence earlier- it's not called "space", but "outer space". The name means all the space outside Earth, not "emptiness". When you graduate to second grade you'll learn that Earth is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. We're already using the sun and moon to generate energy, and there's lots more stuff we can take advantage of once we develop the technology. Considering oil prices aren't dropping, it's probably a good idea not to rely on it long-term.
    One of the missions of this flight is to get the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer installed so it can be used for detecting dark matter, which is likely a key area of research necessary for any possible uses of using what's actually out there. As stupid as your rant was, this actually is a method of government trying something which may help us develop energy. You could say it's similar to oil exploration, but with more balls and brains.

    As for that idiotic political statement, NASA's funding for this mission wasn't determined by recent events. Space exploration is not responsible for the debt, nor will its de-funding solve the problem. Suggesting that taxes be used to pay for drilling reveals how little you understand government, industry and taxation. That's not the US government's job. The US government is already handing out $4B a year to these corporations and they've done nothing but stockpile. If you want more money spent on drilling, you might want to ask your friendly oil company to invest instead of hoarding money (XOM alone has over $13B cash on hand) and taking advantage of high prices (see current record profits with no equivalent uptick in R&D). Or feel free to lobby congress to nationalize the oil industry so you can complain to someone who actually listens to nutjobs.

    And "treason"? Really? You might want to look up that word in a dictionary.

  10. Home Video by Infiniti2000 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Taken by a friend of mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UIYVjqAd3Y

  11. Re:First... (Third and half) by AchilleTalon · · Score: 2
    Third and half...

    find a never ending source of energy to sustain life on the vessel described at point four for at least the number of millenium it will take to head it somewhere across the interstellar space. I should remind everyone the Voyager 1 and 2 probes are now at the very limit of the solar system after a 30 years journey and still emitting a radio signal sending scientific data relying on a Pu238 nuclear energy source which will be at end in about 10 years. At this time, the Voyager 1 and 2 will navigate silently forever the interstellar space at the fastest speed possible using the slingshot effect, but still 40 thousands years away from any other star in this galaxy. So, the question is: How would you sustain life into a vessel travelling interstellar space? Hence, number third and half, which has for corollary if we are to discover any mean of doing this, our energy problem here, on earth, is resolved forever.

    So, maybe it should be number 1 in the list.

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    Achille Talon
    Hop!
  12. Re:Here's how it went where we were by bipedalhominid · · Score: 2

    Yeah man, cool. I was lucky enough to see one of the last night time launches from Melbourne Beach. You could read a newspaper by the light from that shuttle and we were like what 20-30 miles away? Wait let me go all Google Earth it and get some reasonable #s about the mileage before the pedants jump on me. 40-45 miles away, Ok? We crossed the causeway down in Vero and headed North till we got to one of the more remote public beaches. Don't remember exactly which one. Smuggled our brewskies over the dunes, using the walkway, then settled in for the launch. They broadcast the NASA talk across a local radio station down there so we tuned in out little handheld radio. Everyone else had them too. You did not need any help to know when they lit the fire under that bastard cause I swear you could feel the heat. The beach lit up like an instant dawn and you could see the shuttle slowly climb towards the scanty night time clouds. They were the wispy kind that are more of a haze. The kind you would never notice unless the moon passed behind them. When that shuttle penetrated that layer of clouds they turned all pinkish and yellow from the exhaust. Needless to say, this lit up the sky even more and everyone just kind of went Wow. I still get teary eyed thinking about that night and all the money we waste on other crap like wars and incredibly full bank accounts for a select few. We should be out in space by now. I mean we got to leave eventually, why not now?

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    This aint Daytona and you aint Dale Earnhardt. So stop trying to draft on Interstate 40.
  13. Re:Kunimitsu Tezuka by Combatso · · Score: 2

    What? I was referring to the cartoon "Hare We Go" where Bugs proves to Columbus the world is round by throwing a ball around the world.. when it returns, it has custoems stickers from all over the globe on it.