space shuttle

#2
#2
joevol320 said:
The Associated Press: Damage eyed as shuttle heads toward space station

it seems that every space shuttle launch has some problems with foam hitting the shuttle and causing damage. if i was an astronaught, I would be pretty scared about going into space while having to worry about some damage caused by foam. can they not fix the foam problem?
Click to expand...

IIRC Not with the current design of the Orbiter and boosters. This problem has been there since inception and only began to make people worry after the endeavor(?) blew up.
 
#3
#3
MontereyVol said:
IIRC Not with the current design of the Orbiter and boosters. This problem has been there since inception and only began to make people worry after the endeavor(?) blew up.
Click to expand...

that's what i mean, they never had this problem until after the endeavor. Now, after every launch, there is some report about nasa being worried about foam damaging the space shuttle.

I've read where they went to some enviro-friendly foam or chemicals that make the foam and it doesn't hold up well.
 
#4
#4
screw the environment and go w/ the stuff that actually works. sorry human life is more important than looking green
 
#5
#5
Vol Mania 21 said:
screw the environment and go w/ the stuff that actually works. sorry human life is more important than looking green
Click to expand...

I fully agree, and hell think about it for a second. We're not burning bio-diesel to launch the stupid thing. We use highly toxic and corrosive chemicals that can kill just by getting on your skin, and when you light that sucker off you are dumping more toxic gases into the air then you could shake a stick at. In the big scheme of things I doubt the little bit of greenness from using bio-friendly foam is going to matter. It would be like walking in to a sewage treatment plant and thinking you made a difference by pouring in a bottle of water. No one is going to notice.

Human life safety well out weighs any microscopic benefit there is of green foam.
 
#6
#6
MontereyVol said:
IIRC Not with the current design of the Orbiter and boosters. This problem has been there since inception and only began to make people worry after the endeavor(?) blew up.
Click to expand...

joevol320 said:
that's what i mean, they never had this problem until after the endeavor. Now, after every launch, there is some report about nasa being worried about foam damaging the space shuttle.

I've read where they went to some enviro-friendly foam or chemicals that make the foam and it doesn't hold up well.
Click to expand...

It was Columbia that had a crack in its heat shield and disintegrated upon reentry.

I think that this problem existed before then to some extent. There was a change in the material used for insulation at one point, I believe, as you note joevol. IIRC, the problem started after that change...but the change was apparently necessary (it could have been for environmental reasons, but I'm not sure). That may be BS, but I seem to recall reading that.

The reason that they are noted every time now is because we go through extensive checks of the heat shield while in space, something that we didn't do before. The problems are usually not a big deal and are repaired when the shuttle returns. Obviously, they can sometimes be a bigger deal, as it was with Columbia...so that is the reason for the extensive checks now.
 
#7
#7
Aren't the shuttles nearing the end of their service life anyway? When is their service life scheduled to end?
 
#9
#9
KB5252 said:
Aren't the shuttles nearing the end of their service life anyway? When is their service life scheduled to end?
Click to expand...

wasn't it 2012? i forget the date. i don't know what they have to replace it. it's odd that it's taken them so long to design an updated shuttle. it's goin on 30 years since the 1st space shuttle launched.
 
#10
#10
This is either the last, or next to last shuttle mission. It's retiring THIS year. We'll be relying solely on the Russian Soyez capsules to transport people and supplies to the ISS. The next shuttle is well into development, but won't be ready for four years or so.

Ya, it sucks. But the new shuttle will be a lot more capable and a lot safer.
 
#11
#11
joevol320 said:
wasn't it 2012? i forget the date. i don't know what they have to replace it. it's odd that it's taken them so long to design an updated shuttle. it's goin on 30 years since the 1st space shuttle launched.
Click to expand...

I was thinking it was in the next few years. I don't think they are anywhere near a replacement platform. I see us lengthening the service of these shuttles for some time, although someone with more insight may know something I don't.
 
#13
#13
The new shuttle is not a shuttle but more of a capsule. It's called Aries and I believe whoever said 2012 is correct.
 
#16
#16
I beleive that the ARIES is actually a rocket designed to launch targets for anit-ballistic missiles. The shuttle replacement is actually the ARES II, I believe.
 
#17
#17
MontereyVol said:
Yeah? well I know more about Von Braun than you do. :)
Click to expand...

You probably do :).

I will say that I was very interested to hear that von Braun actually suggested slave labor to be used in the secret V2 factories / labor camps. He originally claimed that he had no idea, but it was later revealed the he had actually made the request. The most interesting aspect was that the government kept it hush hush so that they could keep him going on the space program....

...I didn't realize that until I watched a program a few weeks ago....

...thus, why you probably know a lot more than I know about him :).
 
#20
#20
So exactly what is the carbon footprint of the shuttle. How many polar bears have to die for us to get the next Tang?
 
#21
#21
While your post was made in jest, I'm a nerd. So.....

[Geek]

I don't think that the fuel itself produces all that much CO2.

The fuels involved are:
Big orange tank - oxygen and hydrogen burned to make water
Solid rocket boosters - ammonium salt of some sort and aluminum
Orbital engines - a nitrogen compound and oxygen

So, there isn't actually CO2 produced...the carbon footprint as far as the fuel in concerned is small. Now, in order to make the fuel, fossil fuels are probably burned...so there is a carbon footprint associated with it.

I am not sure if any of the exhaust chemicals are greenhouse gases or not, even if they aren't CO2. Of course, water is a GHG...but the hydrogen and oxygen probably came from water in the first place, so only the energy required to form them from water would count, I guess...

[/Geek]

If only it were that easy to turn on/off.... :)
 
#25
#25
TennTradition said:
You probably do :).

I will say that I was very interested to hear that von Braun actually suggested slave labor to be used in the secret V2 factories / labor camps. He originally claimed that he had no idea, but it was later revealed the he had actually made the request. The most interesting aspect was that the government kept it hush hush so that they could keep him going on the space program....

...I didn't realize that until I watched a program a few weeks ago....

...thus, why you probably know a lot more than I know about him :).
Click to expand...

TV program pffffft. I read a book!
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top