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Video Tour of the International Space Station
SternisheFan writes with an excerpt from Bad Astronomer Phil Plait, writing at Slate: "Before she came back to Earth in a ball of fire surrounding her Russian re-entry capsule, astronaut Sunita Williams took time out of her packing for the trip home to give a nickel tour of the International Space Station. ... I know the video's long, but if you have the time I do suggest watching the whole thing. I have very mixed feelings about the space station; it cost a lot of money, and in my opinion it hasn't lived up to the scientific potential NASA promised when it was being designed. But watching this video reminded me of the good that's come out of it: There is science being done there; we're learning how to design and build hardware for long-term space travel; we're learning just how to live in space (and NASA just announced it will be sending humans into space for an entire year, an unprecedented experiment); and we're finding new ways for nations and individuals to cooperate in space."
unprecedented /npresdntid/
Adjective
Only been done 4 times before
Research is rarely profitable. Most of our knowledge of how to do it right comes from testing out all possible ways of doing it wrong. So when you point and say "Well, this particular project didn't pan out" as a reason not to undertake any future projects, you're misrepresenting the facts. It's true, most research fails. But the research that succeeds more than makes up for the costs of all that other research before it. Every technology within your range of vision right now was developed through a iterative process of failure.
And yet, here we are, and I am thankful that, unlike the editor and submitter, I can see the big picture. The space program has contributed way more in commercial developments than it has cost us. Way, way, massively way more. And that's in spite of its bureaucratic failures (of which many have written small books on -- see Appendix D of the Challenger Disaster report for one such example). Research is essential. If you want to argue about the cost of the space program, pick something else -- there are juicier targets than that.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov
Firstly I noticed how loud it is in there. I read read about that in the past but the video really makes that clear. Also I would absolutely want to shoot along that long passage we see early in the video. I reckon you could build up a lot of speed and probably do a lot of damage too.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Hopefully, the Russians will help us. I don't think we'd be able to do this without their help anyway.
Just take all that money we spend catching, prosecuting, and imprisoning nonviolent drug users. Then stop doing that because it's total bullshit. Then use the money instead to explore space. Then the Russians will be begging US for support.
Unless of course telling adults what to do with their own bodies and minds is more important than exploring the greatest frontier imaginable... but the point is, there are lots of great things we could do if we had the will to do it, if we stopped wasting so much time and effort on stupid efforts to control people that never really worked in the first place.
> NASA just announced it will be sending humans into space for an entire year, an unprecedented experiment
This guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov have some comments about it....
I hadn't seen really much of the ISS in terms of what it's like inside. Maybe a guy playing with a yo yo and such, but this walkthrough actually gave me an idea of what the hell NASA is doing with our tax dollars... Pretty cool, and sure beats the days when you'd see some tightly-controlled scratchy film. I finally got a sense of why everything looks like it's in slow motion in space too :)
... be sure to take a look at the 2002 film "Space Station 3D". It's a 47-minute documentary made in IMAX 3D; since it's not likely to be showing in IMAX currently, you can check it out in 2D on DVD. Narration by Tom Cruise, if that matters to you.
... for the 2001 Space Station.
I want to see a space station I can dock into to the sound of the Blue Danube, one where I can get cleared through voice-print identification, walk the corridors to my Hilton suite and chat to a few Russian space engineers coming back down from spending three months calibrating the new antenna at Tchalinko....
IMAX (!) video from inside the Russian Mir space station. Dark, cramped and most likely very smelly - still an incredible achievement. International Space Station? Some kind of progress!
Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
What about adding a module that spins - to simulate gravity.
But i guess it has to be carefully balanced to avoid wobbling. Maybe this can be compensated somehow with liquids?
That was my first impression. It's probably all pretty well organized, but necessarily compact. As a very temporary resident, I think it would be impossible for someone (like myself) to ever know everything about the ISS -- it's so incredibly complex. Think of all the different components needed to make life possible on the station, keeping track of all the consumables and trash, the ship to ground communications, the space suits, the myriad science experiments, needing to know everything in both Russian and English. The crew will depend heavily on manuals for everything and on almost continuous support from knowledgeable staff on the ground.
Thanks very much to ISS commanders Sunita Williams and Kevin Ford for making a great video!
Wouldn't we all like to have one.
Those of us old enough to remember times before the space station will recall that scientists at the time felt that the space station would be a waste. They felt that more important and useful science could be accomplished by spending the money in other areas of space research.
Furthermore, when various sources of research are ranked by "return on investment", government research always lands on the bottom of the list. Government-funded research is always more expensive and less controversial than research from the private sector. (One reason why research competitions are effective.)
People here may recall those times when, a decade-or-so ago, NASA was euphemistically called "No Access to Space for Anyone" because they stood four-square against anyone from the private sector making any attempts at space launch.
The big picture is good, and the space station has rewarded us with many new research results, but I have to wonder whether those $150 billion would have been better spent as prize money for private-research breakthroughs.
That was a great video. The station is amazingly big! And Sunita Williams was inspiring - NASA really picks their people well. She just seemed so smart, unaffecting, competant and good-natured.. I just might have a crush on her.
FYI, there is another video tour, this one by Mike Fincke (another amazing person - look at his wiki page, he has about 6 advanced degrees). It's in two parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Thanks to the submitter - it was half an hour well spent!
Why does the helmet have the three seperate white sliders?
Weren't there plans to scuttle the ISS at one point?
Seriously how can you face coming back to earth and NOT having hair like that!
That was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! Thanks for sharing that Slashdot!
Some interesting observations/thoughts I had watching that (most of them centered around things I never thought about but are obvious once you think it through):
1) Never thought about it, but of course without any gravity, hair does not fall straight down, so her hair is flying in all directions giving a slightly âoecrazedâ look.
2) Very cool to see how they sleep, and the cozy little cubbies they have
3) Again never thought about it, but all the exercise equipment like bikes are not rigidly but rather loosely attached so the walls of the station, otherwise the force they exert during exercise will actually be exerted on the station itself, which would not be good, so they exert force, and the machines just kind of bounce around a bit. I wonder how that affects the quality of the exercise as you have to constantly adjust to a moving platform.
4) It was fascinating to see some of the mundane things like the bathroom shown. One could argue it is not the most PR/polished thing to show, but it was very cool to see how they have thought through everything. Again, something else that did not occur to me but is obvious in hindsight is that the waste disposal tubes have a little bit of suction in them so that the waste matter is pulled away from the person and the station.
5) The port for solid, #2 waste is really small, and she made a good point about aiming well. I shudder to think about occasions when somebody has more of a liquid #2 waste due to indigestion or other problems.
6) They have clips everywhere to clip things on to so they do not fly away. All the spare parts were tied down with rope. They also have strips of cloth or something to clamp down their feet so they do not fly around everywhere
7) She can identify the different cloud and soil types and can figure out what part of the world they are over by just those!
She is a funny, very personable and good guide. Definitely worth watching!
Some other questions I had after watching that they did no get into are how they handle dust, and other matter shed by the human body, hair, skin, etc. There is little to no bacteria there to decompose it and it will get lodged into places.
Also, what about laundry? Water tends to float around, so what about sweat, while working hard or exercising?
-"Those who fought today will die tommorow."-
I really like Phil Plait but he consistently misses one of the major points of ISS was building and operating a working spacecraft in space. That knowledge in and of itself will prove invaluable for longer term missions where resupply and spare parts will be impossible to provide.
That attitude seems to be all too common among scientists: the constantly overlook engineering and take it for granted.
Up close.
You can really tell the difference between the Russian side and the US side. The US side seemed vastly more spacious and "new", the Russian side had a very utilitarian "be thankful it works, feel". That bathroom situation must suck if you got some explosive shits, taco bell style. They must feel like janitors have the time they are free...but man for that view, I think it would be worth it.
She's like Yahoo Serious with oobages. Seems kinda like that would get in the way - be distracting to crewmates, maybe. Don't they have room for Scunchies or hairnets in the budget?
Crazy hair, great looking legs... I wouldn't mind joining the "6 mile high club" with her. :)
That bathroom situation must suck if you got some explosive shits, taco bell style.
Where would the germs come from?
Anyhow, we lived with outhouses or worse for a long time. This is a big step up from that.
Utilitarian isn't a four letter word. I'd rather have something that works reliably than something that looks good. Especially when you can't just hop down to the store to buy a replacement.
And, honestly, the extra white paint does not make the US side a lot better. Unless you're a fan of white, and granted, there are a lot of those these days...
And those fluorescent lights are going to get replaced soon. I read that they think the current lighting may be the cause for the ISS residents having insomnia problems.
Where would the germs come from?
Yes another person who doesn't know what's currently living in his intestines. Let's not even get into the evil that's lurking in his nose.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
...personally I prefer this one as it shows on a map where in the station you are, an hour' s tour as well!!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afBm0Dpfj_k
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