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ISS Crew Stuck In Orbit While Russia Assesses Rocket
astroengine sends word that the astronauts aboard the International Space Station will be staying up there longer than expected while engineers for Russia's space program try to figure out if it's safe to launch more rockets. The recent Russian cargo mission that spun out of control and eventually fell back into the atmosphere sparked worries that a vessel sent to retrieve the astronauts wouldn't make it all the way to the ISS's orbit. Roscosmos and NASA said the next rocket launch will be postponed at least two months. Even though the Russian cargo ship failed to reach the ISS, they have plenty of food, water, and air to last them to the next scheduled supply run — a SpaceX launch in late June.
They're the closest next best backup for the Russian flights. Also they're not run by a government with a national leader who does bizarre things even by national leader standards. Yes, I understand that's not a tremendously high bar, but it's worth a look.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
...looks like something out of Kerbal Space Program.
Yep and when they get really hungry they can draw lots and eat each other's legs.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
They have a Soyuz attached to the station and can use that to return to Earth if they need to.
They're just postponing a scheduled crew change, which is possible because despite the Progress failure, they still have enough supplies to last them until the next scheduled supply run.
Apparently he can't land a rocket on a barge intact, but they're working on that.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Independent failures that pile up can be bad. Of course, just checking the safety for two months is far different from being unable to retrieve them.
The ISS is recycling California sewage in space? No wonder my sewage bill was so expensive in Silicon Valley.
Houston Control: "...and, uh, your luggage went to Mars."
Table-ized A.I.
Wasn't one of the SpaceX Dragon capsules sent up as a supply ship to the station actually fully equipped with the necessary seating and everything? They're not certified for a crew yet, but I suspect if it came down to it, that certification could be obtained relatively quickly if the Russians suddenly proved incapable of ferrying passengers to the station.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
If they vacate the premises, they might have to worry about squatters.
Full disclosure, I see no downside with Elon turning space pirate.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Where does the shit go ? Do they have a place for two more months' worth of crap ? I mean - seriously...
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
Build a car that anyone outside of the upper class can actually afford?
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
The coffeemaker still works.... right?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
"Another month in outer space? (sigh) Oh, darn... (smirk)" or "Man, this is bullshit!"
.
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
Space Squatters... The reality show that follows a bunch of ragtag astronauts who occupy the ISS and won't leave, as no evicting authority has jurisdiction!!
Fridays at 8, this fall on TLC!!!
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
I can't draw lots!
I don't know what they look like.
You're looking for quotes? See my journal.
I suggest Space Oddity
That's coming in 2017.
Considering that no one else has tried and succeeded means he is closer than everyone else.
Now when he builds his own moon base can we call him an evil mastermind ?
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
I was under the impression that once they had permission to land on terrain, the barge was not going to be needed anymore. He could park it off the coast of Baja and use it as a lair...
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
For not having their own "capsule" system, they shelved in the 70's. Should have NEVER stopped upgrading Apollo.
No, Cargo Dragon is a different thing than Crew Dragon. Cargo Dragon has been making routine trips to the ISS to deliver supplies and bring back waste. Crew Dragon recently did a pad abort test, but that's the farthest it's been.
Nothing I've seen indicates this, and I've been following them quite closely.
For one, the launch abort system is a required part of a manned Dragon that has been missing from all Dragon flights so far.
The drone platforms (there's one being built for the west coast too) will still be used for situations where the core doesn't have enough propellant to return to land. Especially the center core of Falcon Heavy launches that need to make a large plane change, as the cross-fed center core goes much further and faster than the side cores.
I'm not aware of any seats on a CRS Dragon. However, I do remember an astronaut stating that a human stowaway would make it safely to earth aboard one. It certainly has some life support systems, because it carries mice to ISS.
I think since the Space Shuttle program, NASA has become much more concerned with safety. Therefore, a Dragon 1 with seats won't do. They want redundancy, specifically abort capability from the launch pad to orbit. Which is something the Space Shuttle never had. Before Challenger, it was LEO or die.
I wouldn't be surprised if NASA has a secret evacuation plan that involves using a Dragon as a lifeboat.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
This does not appear to be so. Dragon V2 is the manned version and isn't set for flight testing until late 2015, per Wikipedia (there is more info, and marketing, on Space X's website):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...
As well, for pure cargo missions maximizing cargo is the goal, especially for critical missions.
BlameBillCosby.com
That's because tesla is in the market of milking the 1% to provide battery technology for the 99%, and profit for the 0.1%
Actually, bring back waste just far enough for it to incinerated on re entry. They don't reuse those cargo capsules.
They don't re-use those (yet), but they don't burn up on re-entry, they parachute-drop in the ocean. Every Crew Dragon flight gives them valuable engineering data and experience on their heat shields.
The program was cancelled by the Bush II administration in 2004. The last flight happened while Obama was president, following a 1 year funding extension of funding authorized by congress in 2009 that made the last flight in 2011 rather than the originally scheduled 2010. If enough Americans told their senators and reps "I'll only vote for you if you get us another crew vehicle" we would have one in less than six years.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
if the choice was between "using a cargo return Dragon" or "slowly suffocating on the ISS", the choice is pretty clear. Clamp down those helmets and hang on...
Only if he builds a giant "laser" and calls it the "Alan Parsons Project" - or maybe Operation Bananarama
No. All of the V1 have been full cargo. It would have been expensive to waste that volume with seats since the dragon is volume constrained. However, the first couple had windows and all have life support.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
NASA did not choose that. Nixon did.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Actually, you can thank idiots, like yourself. W killed the shuttle and stopped all manufacturing lines by 2007. Had O restarted the shuttle program, at a cost of half of NASA's budget, the very first flight MIGHT have been this year.
OTOH, had the neo-cons not killed off cots-d , we would have had manned flights back in 2013 or earlier.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
The worst they can find.