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Russian Space Agency Determines Cause of Soyuz Crash
An anonymous reader writes "The online version of the San Francisco Chronicle reports the cause of the loss of a Soyuz rocket in August. The Russian Space Agency, ROSCOSMOS says a manufacturing flaw led to the failure of a gas generator."
This is not an accident that there is a flaw in manufacturing procedure, it's the reality of current Russian political arena, where nobody really gives a s..t about anything and the only important question is - how do I make more money now?
In fact it is better and faster news than many people feared. It suggests a by-the-numbers path to return the Soyuz to service. In turn, this dramatically lowers the risk that we will need to evacuate the ISS and suffer any negative consequences associated with that.
(We now return you to this thread's excessively random spew.)
That was not Soyuz, it was Progress - space truck.
was the real problem
http://www.awfullybigmoustache.com
A Progress was the payload. The rocket is called Soyuz. (As are the payloads that carry humans.)
Because it's obviously so much better when the job goes to the highest bidder. Whenever you buy anything you always as much for it as you can, right?
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
how are american lives more important than russian lives, or any other?
If you can't value a human life, ask life insurance professional. Short version: a human generates income stream. Value of someone's life is a sum of that income from present to death of the individual. So if GDP per capita today is 14K in Russia and 45K in America then average American life is three time as valuable.
how are american lives more important than russian lives, or any other?
The point that the poster appeared to be making was that NASA is responsible for American lives, not Russian lives, and NASA tends to be pretty darn rigorous about these sorts of things. So if it puts American lives at risk, NASA will have to sign off on this, and NASA won't do so unless it meets with their satisfaction.
If they were going to the cheapest bidder they'd already have launched with the Dragon capsule.
Yes, we need the level of engineering that kills human beings when a space shuttle explodes. I think I'll trust NASA's decision rather than share your opinion, you might look at them as stupid people but then again some people might think the same thing about you.
Was sure this fault of Moose or Squirrel... Must now carve new gas generator!
I dont think you understand how bidding works.
Typically, you would say "here are my requirements" (one of which is generally "will not catastrophically fail"), and ask for some kind of maintenance and / or guarantee, and then various vendors would bid for THAT.
And yes, you should absolutely take the cheapest vendor who can meet all of your requirements.
Space Failures Raise Uneasy Questions - The Russian Space Industry starved after the fall of the USSR. The workforce aged and retired and there was a lack of new hires due to non-competitive pay scales with industry. Now the agency faces a lack of skilled workers that will only worsen as corruption has devoured all capital investments. New engineers and technicians take years to become proficient, it's not like working at you're local 7-11 as some folks seem to think.
You can draw a direct parallel to the US human spaceflight program. Now that the shuttle program has ended the majority of laid-off contract workers (i.e. USA, BOEING, Rockwell) are dispersing out of Brevard County - Florida to other aerospace jobs across the United States. Any future US manned space program will spend much treasure and likely a few lives to restore the talent that was let go, APOLLO all over again.
Hello. This is Russian Space Agency. My Name Peggy. You Have Problem With Our Rocket?
Ironic and overly stupid post.
In the second link it says that a defect led to a "clogged fuel supply pipe". They don't seem to specify which part was faulty or what the defect actually was. Did a valve stick or maybe a turbopump failed. The way it's worded somebody could have left their lunch in the fuel tank.
Anybody know where there's more specific information?
Knowledge Brings Fear
This isn't about spaceflight, so it isn't directly applicable here, but... I was always curious about a $1 bid, so I asked someone in the construction industry. He said that one of the requirements on every job is a "completion bond". This is a bond from an insurance company that will pay to have the project completed to the requirements if the bidder fails to do so themselves. So, if you get an insurance company to underwrite a bond on your $1 bid, the buyer doesn't care. If you don't build it, your insurance company will pay someone else to do so. Either way, they get what they requested for your bid of $1. If you don't get the bond, they'll never accept your bid in the first place.
How does the buyer ensure you're meeting the requirements? They have inspectors. As with any contract dispute, if you say you completed the project to requirements and the buyer says you didn't, ultimately a court will have to decide who's right.
Losing a whole rocket, and cargo therein is not cheap, at all. Capitalism picks the option that maximizes return (in general), choosing cheap parts for the Space Rocket is the opposite of that since you lose rockets, cargo and customers.
Instead it sounds a lot more like remnants of socialism at work, where your cousin Tedinski runs a motor factory and you are giving him the work over "Super Reliable Motors That Never Fail Inc" because you drink together every day that ends with a "y".
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
From the mission control specialists:
Hey, this really *is* Rocket Science!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
There was an urgent full-cycle test of Soyuz rocket engine RD-0110 (from the same batch which include failed one) at the test range near russian city Voronezh right after Progress has crashed. Defect inspection after firing test showed no mistakes in manufacturing or defects in materials used, so decision-makers marked this Progress crash with "shit happens" bit, and allowed remaining engines form the batch to be used on purpose.
If you can't value a human life, ask life insurance professional. Short version: a human generates income stream. Value of someone's life is a sum of that income from present to death of the individual. So if GDP per capita today is 14K in Russia and 45K in America then average American life is three time as valuable.
Except that he said important instead of valuable. Many of the most important figures in history died destitute.
I hope it's just from American life insurance professional's perspective
1 week is not long enough for a credible inquiry. At least not when the results put American lives at stake
1 week is not long enough for a credible inquiry. At least not when the results put American lives at stake
It would be more Ok when Übermensch's lives are at stake, right?
Err, Untermensch
You DO know you can say shit on slashdot, right? I mean fuck, man! There are no word police here.
Right, as opposed to when cargo is at stake. No Russians were on board the rocket, so where are you getting the comparison to Russian lives?
Americans dying on an American rocket or Russians dying on a Russian rocket is a tragedy but Americans dying on a Russian rocket or vice versa is a political and diplomatic nightmare that would seriously damage this planets space efforts for generations.
I'll just leave this here. Fatal Events Involving NASA Astronauts
Reminds me of a cartoon I saw back in the 70's about the Apollo-Soyuz rendezvous. It showed the two spacecraft, each with a "word-balloon", under the caption, "Checklist."
The Apollo word-balloon was filled with technical-sounding gibberish like, "Primary backup thrust inverters... Check! Docking-ring framulator extenders... Check!"
The Soyuz word-balloon said, "Anvil... Da! Hammer... Da!"
I wish I'd saved that one. ;-)
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough of it. --AC
Neither of TFAs said whether or not they expect to get back in service in time for the crew exchange in November. From the SFgate piece, it sounds like they're planning to go ahead, but one has to wonder if that's realistic.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough of it. --AC
"The mod who modded you down" seems to have forgotten the myriad methods slashdot uses to undo moderations.
Whether you are logged in or not, using the same browser or not, slashdot (thankfully!) undoes mods from the same IP when a post is made subsequently. Meaning that unless you deliberately abuse Tor or some other anonymizer, your mod has been undone.
So, either, you're not so smug now, or you're admitting to being a Mod Troll; someone who abuses and / or games the Moderation system to push an agenda. I currently have a few of these, and in a fair and just society they'd all be banned for abusing that system...
This tagline was transcoded to result in at least one smirk. If you experience failure to smirk, please consult your Gen
I hope to see the day when people who think like that are rounded up and shot. If you are life insurance professional (sic, mocking the OP), I hope the last thing you hear is ...
"Die capitalist scum! No longer shall you be the boot on the face of man!"
<BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!>
This tagline was transcoded to result in at least one smirk. If you experience failure to smirk, please consult your Gen
before certifying Soyuz of US astronaut transport. That makes a pretty tight schedule for staffing the Space Station. The last Soyuz lifeboat on the ISS loses its safety rating in November. Soyuzes are given a 200 day safety lifetime mainly due to life-support supplies.
Must have forgotten to feed the hamsters I bet
There is entirely too little mental illness in this thread so far.
I dunno, I see a fair bit...
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2419552&cid=37347080
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2419552&cid=37347732
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Um, Usually the bidder is obligated to meet the requirements the posted. Youd have to be retarded not to hold them to such a contract.
We get you to sign a contract, we give you the $1, and when you dont follow through we meet you in the courts for breach of contract, fraud, and all the rest.
Care to see it in action? You should totally bid against Lockheed and Boeing for the next fighter, try your $1 bid.