Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Former Rep. Louis Stokes, the Man Who Saved the Space Station, Dies At Age 90

Posted by samzenpus on from the rest-in-peace dept.

MarkWhittington writes: The Associated Press noted the passing of former Rep. Louis Stokes at the age of 90. Since Stokes was an African American Democrat first elected in 1968, most of the accolades touch on his effect on the civil rights struggle and his lifelong fight against racism. However, as George Abbey, former NASA Director of the Johnson Spaceflight Center and current Fellow in Space Policy at the Baker Institute of Rice University pointed out on his Facebook Page, Stokes can be rightly be said to be the man who saved the International Space Station and perhaps human space flight in America.

2 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Did he really save it, though? by timrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From the article, Stokes actually voted twice to kill the ISS, and only switched after political prodding from the Clinton administration. The way the headline is written makes it seem like he was a champion for the ISS the entire time.

  2. Re:Is this a good thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is there any serious defense of the ISS in terms of a results per unit spend or unit lift capacity?

    You do realize that ISS has ZERO lift capacity?

    As for science, there is science done on ISS.

    http://science.nasa.gov/scienc...

    And no, that experiment would not be possible without ISS because of power demands.

    And without ISS, there would be no Americans in space.. This means ZERO US research on effects of near-space and its environment of living organisms. ZERO other research done by these individuals. No experience in on-orbit assembly of structures. Spacewalks that are routine with ISS were "exception to the rule" before ISS... but maybe China should take over leading role in space anyway?? Right?

    http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pa...

    Finally, without it, there would be no Space X because they would never get contract to supply ISS.

    To me it is kind of mind-blowing to even ask if ISS is beneficial. Obviously the answer is YES! Even if the only thing we get from ISS is stroking Musk's ego to get to Mars, it's worth it. Vertical landing of 1st stage for re-use has been something that's been quite unimaginable before SpaceX and probably never tried with Boeing or Lockheed.