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Behind the Scenes of NASA's Orbital ATK ISS Resupply Mission (hothardware.com)
Reader MojoKid sheds more light on NASA's unmanned cargo ship: The Orbital ATK CRS-6 mission that launched last week at NASA Cape Canaveral, Florida not only delivered supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), but also carried a number of research projects on NASA's Cygnus spacecraft. On board the CRS-6 were Gecko Grippers, which attempt to mimic the adhesion properties of gecko feet. Through the use of nanomaterials, Gecko Grippers can be repeatedly applied and removed from a surface without losing their adhesive properties via the use of van der Waals forces. They are also unaffected by temperature, pressure or radiation. Also in tow for the mission are supplies for the Saffire Experiment, which will be the largest man-made fire in space with data beamed back to earth so researchers can understand its properties and results. It's also impressive to see the NASA VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building), which is one of the biggest structures in the world covering 8 acres and measuring 525 ft tall, as well as the SLS Crawler, which is designed to move large spacecraft components supporting up to 18 million pounds and has been utilized for the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs.
If only I had mod points, I'd mod this down.
Ob: https://www.penny-arcade.com/c...
Seriuosly, things like resupply missions should be being done by private industry and should be at around $10-20 per pound. I'd like to know how much this one cost to send up? We have the capability now and we should be rapidly advancing it.
I, for one, welcome our new anonymous coward troll overlords.
Mooooooooooooo!
It's like what, 250 miles? A man on a bicycle could easily cover that distance in a day.
These government contractors are featherbedding and milking a sweet deal.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Obama's space program has become. The future is not what I thought it would be in space when I watched Apollo 11.
All these government contractors are charging some embarrassingly inflated $/lb to transport cargo to the ISS.
ATK says they're sending 4400 lbs, but when it gets there, what does it weigh? ZERO! So (0 + 4400)/2 * $/lb means there additionally soaking our government for TWICE the weight of cargo actually shipped. These villains have no shame about raping the public purse of the Republic.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I read the article. I worked at Vandenberg AFB and have been sent to Canaveral for work. I checked Wikipedia to see if something dramatic has changed in the past few months. Why does the article yammer about something called a "Titan V", which does not exist?
"What's your job?"
Well, I gotta hook this hose to that thing and fill it up. See, first ya gotta take this special wrench and put it on there, and then - oh wait, first ya have to be sure that red switch is down, cause if it's up then hooey kablooie! So anyways, ya use that wrench to take the cover off, and you better wear a mask cause that stuff in there is nasty! That'll clear your sinuses right up, ha! So then ya put the hose on there, which is a little tricky cause it's got this special latch thing with a spring that ya gotta turn just so, and, oh yeah, first ya gotta hook that green wire up, yeah, right there, cause you don't want no sparks. Blammo!, ya know? So ya hook the hose on, and set the latch so it don't come flyin' off when all that stuff is goin' in. It's pretty cold, too, so ya gotta wear gloves, and yer supposed to wear goggles and overhauls too but sometimes the goggles fog up so mostly I just wear 'em up on my head and pull 'em down when the supervisor comes over, ya know? So then ya flip that switch - but wait, first ya gotta call the control room guy and tell him ya got the hose hooked up right and is it ok to turn on? So then when he says it's ok you flip the switch and WHOOSH it fills right up quick! Ya gotta watch that gauge there, and when it says "full" ya gotta flip the switch back off, cause you don't wanna over fill it, or else, ya know, kablooie!
"So what kind of school did you have to go to, to get this job?"