astronomy & space stuff

[Ishmael]

No landing runway on the moon. Not designed to leave orbit. No unaided liftoff capability.

All of those problems can be solved. (And neither the shuttle nor the new launch vehicle are going to actually land on the moon).

The problem is simple. Orbital velocity is ~17,500 MPH whereas escape is ~25,000 MPH. Any vehicle is going to return at close to escape velocity. At that speed the shuttle would be another firework display over Texas, if not sooner.

Ishmael

 

[Fagin]

Not true. Orion will have a lunar lander. The partial purpose is to establish a moon base.

The shuttle is too old and decrepit to retrofit, if it is even possible, at least it is unfeasible.

 

[Ishmael]

Not true. Orion will have a lunar lander. The partial purpose is to establish a moon base.

The shuttle is too old and decrepit to retrofit, if it is even possible, at least it is unfeasible.

It is true that it can be retrofitted for all but re-entry. It is also true that it just isn't worth the time or expense.

Ishmael

 

[Lost Cause]

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians are putting the finishing touches on space shuttle Discovery one day before its scheduled liftoff on mission STS-124. Launch is set for May 31 at 5:02 p.m. EDT.

"After months of hard work and preparation, Discovery and its crew are ready to fly," said NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding during a morning briefing on Discovery's countdown status. "All of our systems are in great shape, we're tracking no issues, and we're right on schedule for tomorrow's launch."

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/232554main_BuzzatVAB226X170.jpg

 

[Lost Cause]

All of those problems can be solved. (And neither the shuttle nor the new launch vehicle are going to actually land on the moon).

With the technological success of the Phoenix landing we can send a lunar launch vehicle in advance- a "lifeboat" could reduce the overall mission weight from earth to the moon by already being there, and the left behind lander could be modular and converted into a shelter by the next crew arriving.

http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/neep602/FALL97/LEC12/21.JPG

 

[Fagin]

NASA Delays Next Space Telescope's Launch
By SPACE.com Staff

posted: 30 May 2008
10:35 am ET

NASA has delayed the planned launch of a new space telescope next week by two days to allow engineers extra time to check the observatory's rocket.

Initially slated to launch Tuesday, NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is now set to launch atop a Delta 2 rocket on Thursday at 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT) from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The new launch target was selected to "give the launch team sufficient time to make sure remaining open engineering issues are resolved," NASA officials said in a Thursday announcement.

The $690 million GLAST observatory is designed to map the night sky in the gamma ray range, beyond the limits of human eyesight, to hunt the most energetic objects and form of light in the universe. Researchers hope the new telescope will answer long-standing questions over astronomical oddities like dark matter and supermassive black holes, as well as spot gamma ray bursts - the most powerful explosions in the universe - and trace the source of cosmic rays.

GLAST has a nearly two-hour window to launch on Thursday and would follow NASA's space shuttle Discovery, which is poised to blast off Saturday afternoon from the nearby Kennedy Space Center to deliver a new Japanese lab to the International Space Station.

GLAST's two-day launch slip is the second delay for the space telescope, which was originally slated to launch May 16 before Delta 2 booster issues cropped up.

If Discovery's liftoff is delayed until late next week, mission managers plan to stand down until June 7 to allow GLAST to launch, shuttle test director Jeff Spaulding said Friday.

 

[Fagin]

I love the Delta rockets. I hope they fixed all their issues with them.

 

[Lost Cause]

15 hours to launch on Saturday!

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/227751main_whiteroom-m_800-600.jpg

 

[Fagin]

15 hours to launch on Saturday!

Hoping to get back from kidlet activity in time to catch the launch.

 

[Lost Cause]

T-Minus 20+ minutes.........

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/213834main_124-strapin.jpg


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/

 

[Lost Cause]

LIVE FEEDS!!
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/

 

[Lost Cause]

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/chan2large.jpg
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/chan1large.jpg

 

[Lost Cause]

1 Minute!!

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

 

[Lost Cause]

5 minutes..

 

[Cathleen]

God Speed, Discovery.

Got to love math.

 

[Lost Cause]

LIFTOFF!!

http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/medium/08pd1549-m.jpg

 

[Lost Cause]

Spectacular pictures!


http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/medium/08pd1559-m.jpg
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/medium/08pd1546-m.jpg
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/medium/08pd1558-m.jpg

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=167

 

[Fagin]

Great launch.

 

[Ishmael]

And there's still no little black spots on the sun today.

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/synoptic/sunspots_earth/mdi_sunspots.jpg

Solar cycle 24 started on Dec. 24 of last year. Sun spots were recorded on Jan. 8th and April 14th.

Solar cycles are 11 years in duration so the beginning of cycle 24 represents 253 years of continuous observation. It is also known, but not clearly understood why, that a lack of Sun spots results in cooler earth temperatures.

Ishmael

 

[BlueTriton]

why is our solar system basically flat as a pancake?

why dont the planets orbit the sun on different planes that the earth?

 

[breakwall]

I watched the whole launch on NASA-TV.

...needed more car chases.

 

[Lost Cause]

I'll delete the live feeds after they stop showing replays....

 

[breakwall]

I'll delete the live feeds after they stop showing replays....

"And now here's Mission Control"
If I wanted to see a bunch of guys sitting at desks looking at computers, I'd just go into work.

Show me more space and stuff!

 

[Lost Cause]

Show me more space and stuff!

How about making up rock names?
http://a52.g.akamaitech.net/f/52/827/1d/www.space.com/images/080529-phoenix-names-02.jpg
http://www******.com/php/multimedia...redit:+NASA/JPL-Caltech/University+of+Arizona.

 

[phrodeau]

I wonder if they hired a union plumber to work on that space station toilet.