NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, it won't be too long now.

They reckoned they had fixed the problem when the Ship was launched.
They hadn't.

Now they reckon the Blanket doesn't matter, and the Ship will come down safely.

Do you believe them?

If it doesnt, this will be the end of the American Shuttle program.
History in the making folks.

I have a feeling they will come back safely. If I'm wrong, anyone who opposes can bitch slap me as hard as they want.

I think fear mongering is not the way to go. I have my faith behind this mission. I also accept these come with risks that must be taken. i also find the thread title crude and misleading. We are talking about people lives, not something you can bet on. Typical flame bait.

I'll take that information you ugly mother of a lard!

Strangely enough, people love it when you make black humour out of the war, out of the Holocaust, out of anything.
As long as it's not current, hey?

Anyways, the point is that it may only be an hour or so till the Shuttle comes down, and whether you still trust NASA with the lives of those Astronauts.

Strangely enough, people love it when you make black humour out of the war, out of the Holocaust, out of anything.
As long as it's not current, hey?

Anyways, the point is that it may only be an hour or so till the Shuttle comes down, and whether you still trust NASA with the lives of those Astronauts.

I don't like humor about war, the holocaust or death. And I don't want to hear it again.

The astronauts will be here in an hour or so. and yes I trust NASA. I don't however accept the fact you can place bets on this.

I don't like humor about war, the holocaust or death. And I don't want to hear it again.

The astronauts will be here in an hour or so. and yes I trust NASA. I don't however accept the fact you can place bets on this.
South Park reckoned it was...22.3 years. Maybe I'll need to wait.
At any rate, I like humour about bad things.

Obviously you can't bet money on these things (I think, maybe I'll need to check some agencies' websites), but considering who I made a poll about this, "place your bets" is a good title.

If you don't like it, report it and see whether the Mods agree with you.

South Park reckoned it was...22.3 years. Maybe I'll need to wait.
At any rate, I like humour about bad things.

Obviously you can't bet money on these things (I think, maybe I'll need to check some agencies' websites), but considering who I made a poll about this, "place your bets" is a good title.

If you don't like it, report it and see whether the Mods agree with you.

You're sick and you're twisted. I don't think placing your bets was a good title. It is sick. Sick, sick, sick sick and SICK!

I have nothing else to say to you.

You're sick and you're twisted.
That goes straight into my sig!

Looks like bad weather has delayed the landing.

http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-08-08T074131Z_01_BAN824939_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-SPACE-SHUTTLE-20050808.XML

For whoever has actually said "No", may I ask why?

If you were a SOVIET, I would understand this sick and twisted thread title.

I will support NASA, and I have faith that the shuttle will come back safely.

As for you. If you really do live in Australia and care for the place, you should be on NASA's side.

If you were a SOVIET, I would understand this sick and twisted thread title.

I will support NASA, and I have faith that the shuttle will come back safely.

As for you. If you really do live in Australia and care for the place, you should be on NASA's side.
Are you sure you aren't a Mesa-Reincarnate?

Anyways, I actually said that they would come down safely. Neither of the "no"-votes is mine.

I don't think that the Shuttle is still up to the job though. It's too old, and when NASA doesn't acknowledge it, then that is a problem.

As for the title, again: If you don't like it, report it. I'm not about to stop anyone from disagreeing with me or my sense of humour.

I don't like the thread title but, unfortunately, the whole Space Shuttle programme turned out to be a gamble. I think that the astronauts will be lucky this time, but what about the next?

If you were a SOVIET, I would understand this sick and twisted thread title.

...
What do you mean by 'SOVIET'?

Okay, I'll be honest with you guys.
The Thread Title was inspired by the Radio show "Today, Today" on Triple J in Australia. They asked pretty much the same question, and I thought it was funny - and I still do.

But you people should focus on the actual posts rather than on the title.

the shuttle will most liekly come back Safely, after such a recent disaster, anything else is unacceptable.

As for putting faith in NASA. no. NASA should know better then to use decades old equipment, we are supposed to be catious with space, considering it's a vaccum that kills anything unprotected within it (so far as we know...) and leave very little room for mistakes...course, prolly dosn't help that NASA's funding is repeaditly cut as time goes on...

[QUOTE=Callipygousness]If you were a SOVIET, I would understand this sick and twisted thread title...[QUOTE]

Yeah...get over it.

Anyway, to get the topic off of evil Commies and radio shows, while I can't say I feel too confident of it, I think NASA has taken enough care this time to ensure that nothing would happen. Because if something does, it'll be their asses.

The Shuttles need to be decommissioned and a new spacecraft put into production anyway. These things have been flying since 1979 and their onboard computers' processing power is rivaled by a PDA from RadioShack.

I thought they would come back safely until they removed the filler. I'm sure they did something but uhh what's going keep gases from entering the shuttle where they removed the GAP filler?

I got NASA TV on right now on my tv :p

The Shuttles need to be decommissioned and a new spacecraft put into production anyway. These things have been flying since 1979 and their on-board computers' processing power is rivalled by a PDA from RadioShack.

The computers have been updated since Columbia. Also the shuttle itself is old but its always being updated and new parts put in it.

The computers have been updated since Columbia. Also the shuttle itself is old but its always being updated and new parts put in it.
But then, NASA spent, what, 2 billion dollars on getting the shuttle to take off smoothly, and the very same thing happened again.

I heard someone say that there always had been things wrong with the shuttles, and that only now they actually have the technology to pick all those little things up. So maybe those old bricks are robust enough to take a lot of crap?

I think it'll come back down in one piece. If it doesn't then NASA is going to get an angry letter from me.

The computers have been updated since Columbia. Also the shuttle itself is old but its always being updated and new parts put in it.
The computers could be easily beaten by your average household PC.

As for new parts, I believe they replace each and every tile in the underbelly of the orbiter after each mission. Most other changes are just to fit the requirements for whatever scientific mission the astronauts are to complete once in orbit.

Hehe, such bad taste, but so entertaining.

A say 80% chance it'll be fine.. though I think everyone will be pretty guttered if 7 more astronaughts die.

I note about the computers: as with all space/military technology out there - what is actually in the fighter jets/space station/missles is all 10 year old technology - they take a looong time building and testing that stuff, because the last thing you need is a blue screen of death on approach in the shuttle.

Hehe, such bad taste, but so entertaining.
Thanks mate. Finally.
I was starting to get worried... :p

The landing has been postponed for another 24 hours. This is due to weather problems.

But then, NASA spent, what, 2 billion dollars on getting the shuttle to take off smoothly, and the very same thing happened again.

I heard someone say that there always had been things wrong with the shuttles, and that only now they actually have the technology to pick all those little things up. So maybe those old bricks are robust enough to take a lot of crap?

I think the odds were pretty good and it is best to take chances. If we didn't take chances we would be nowhere. If you look at the 1950s and 1960s, you would really come to an understanding on how many accidents the US Government had (shuttle launches were previously left up to branches of the US military).

I think the odds were pretty good and it is best to take chances. If we didn't take chances we would be nowhere. If you look at the 1950s and 1960s, you would really come to an understanding on how many accidents the US Government had (shuttle launches were previously left up to branches of the US military).
Indeed, space travel isn't the safest thing to do, and the Soviet Program had the same issues.
Although I believe the Chinese didn't have any significant troubles, did they?

Nonetheless, this isn't the Fifties or Sixties, and I would be rather disappointed if they couldn't update the safety of their ships in all these years.

Indeed, space travel isn't the safest thing to do, and the Soviet Program had the same issues.
Although I believe the Chinese didn't have any significant troubles, did they?

Nonetheless, this isn't the Fifties or Sixties, and I would be rather disappointed if they couldn't update the safety of their ships in all these years.

First off, we had accident after accident after accident in the 50s and 60s. But we know what to do now, and we know how to do it right. It always comes with risks. Hell driving on roads has risk. But that doesn't mean we should stop trying.

The Soviet program was far more problematic.

Hell driving on roads has risk.
Tell me about it.
Speed Cameras everywhere. ;)

The Soviet program was far more problematic.
They weren't doing a bad job though. They had a good jump on you guys, they just kind of lost the plot after a while.
The casualty figures are just skewed because of the Plesetsk Explosion in 1980.
By the way, the Soviets had a space shuttle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran) too.

I see no reason that it won't land. The If the gap filler wasn't removed during re-entry the gapfiller would create increased friction and overheat the tiles and there would be a very good chance that the shuttle would explode. I think that if it did explode NASA program would be shut down, because the recent Cloumbia explosion, and the earlier icidents such as challenger. If this happens, we would suffer a great loss.

the shuttle will most liekly come back Safely, after such a recent disaster, anything else is unacceptable

Presumably it should be unnaceptable, regardless of the Columbia Mission.
I really can't foresee them getting back safely, or atleast without something going wrong. The shuttles are too old, they need a complete overhaul, of course I don't know how they would do it, but they need more reliable heat protection.

Oh, and all you people, okay one person said it but more probably thought it, saying Soviets and Commies are evil, I presume you just hate Russians because of the Soviet history? You do realise that the Russians and Americans combined technologies to make the Shuttle engines dont you? Without the Russians you wouldn't be going anywhere...Idiots.

IF it comes down safely, I still believe that NASA should make an end of the shuttle program. They should find a more safe method of launching people into space.

They should find a more safe method of launching people into space.

Good luck with that.

They start off by going straight up at a high speed to a high altitude, sitting right on top of an enormous, gigantic, totally awesomely huge canister of highly-explosive rocket fuel, pulling many, many Gs in the process.

Why do they do this? Well, so that they can get up there and fly around in this place called space, which is nearly absolute zero, has precisely 'no' air, 'no' protection against the sun's radiation, and 'no' take-out pizza services. Their lives are entirely dependent upon what is essentially a big tin can. One wrong move could see them irradiated, frozen, melted, depressurised and/or suffocated before they had time to say "Grandma Josephine likes to suck on..."

Here they stay for a while, hoping to god that nothing happens to their life support systems or the integrity of the shuttle's hull while they're up there. Occasionally they'll go outside in what amounts to a dinner suit with some glass and some flashy lights, hoping nothing happens that could knock them flying into deep space.

Eventually, they plunge down through the thick atmosphere of Earth as a fireball, hurtling towards the ground at a phenomenal speed. One wrong move could see them burned alive or mushed into the ground like pineapple chunks.

And then they get out and have to see to their SOs. Which could be more dangerous.

Point being? Space flight is dangerous. Unbelievably, amazing, toe-tappingly bananary dangerous. The fact that we've had only two shuttle accidents is unbelievably fortunate. It's down to the skill of the people both on the ground, up in space, and the folks on Zargonia 5 who are secretly aiding the human race so that we can participate in an intergalactic war, that we haven't had even more accidents. Two accidents in 80+ missions, considering the frickin' kowabunga dangers, is rather successful if you ask me.

And if you're not prepared to take risks, if you're one of these people who thinks it's right that health-and-safety legislation has seen the removal of the kettle from our office so that we can't burn ourselves on it, then you're the kind of person who's going to bring an end to human exploration and innovation. We'll stagnate and DIE! Where's the spirit that lead to the colonisation of America gone? Hmm? I say, bring back our kettles!

So can we please stop placing bets?

There has been over 112 shuttle flights.

Well, it won't be too long now.

They reckoned they had fixed the problem when the Ship was launched.
They hadn't.

Now they reckon the Blanket doesn't matter, and the Ship will come down safely.

Do you believe them?

not really but the odd are in their favour so i say yes

And if you're not prepared to take risks, if you're one of these people who thinks it's right that health-and-safety legislation has seen the removal of the kettle from our office so that we can't burn ourselves on it, then you're the kind of person who's going to bring an end to human exploration and innovation. We'll stagnate and DIE! Where's the spirit that lead to the colonisation of America gone? Hmm? I say, bring back our kettles!

Well said!

I hope the shuttle will return safely.

I agree with some others that the tone of this thread could be seen as gloating and almost hopeful that there will be another disaster.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Such a grusome poll!!! I love it, it tickles the cockles of my heart. We all know what NASA stands for : NEED ANOTHER SEVEN ASTRONAUTS!!!

Such a grusome poll!!! I love it, it tickles the cockles of my heart. We all know what NASA stands for : NEED ANOTHER SEVEN ASTRONAUTS!!!

...sick.

How long did it take you to think of that? :rolleyes:

...sick.

How long did it take you to think of that? :rolleyes:

That was a joke from way back. From Challenger days.

Watching the video clips on the Nasa website, I am inspired to confidence by the sight of a man pulling tufts of material from the bottom of the shuttle with his chunky gloved hands....

Mind you, Apollo 13 got home using a pair of socks and some other stuff, so I guess if anyone can get them home safe it's the Nasa boffins.

Watching the video clips on the Nasa website, I am inspired to confidence by the sight of a man pulling tufts of material from the bottom of the shuttle with his chunky gloved hands....

Mind you, Apollo 13 got home using a pair of socks and some other stuff, so I guess if anyone can get them home safe it's the Nasa boffins.

Hey, at least the space shuttle has wheels. Well, if the glue holds anyway. I'm sure they have some empty toilet rolls to use as backup wheels though.



I forgot to say, that if the worst does happen, and these astronauts do perish (which they won't, but if they do, which they won't, but if they do, which they won't, but if they do, which they won't, but if they do, which they won't, but if they... *Gets thwacked with a kipper*), then you can be 100% sure of one thing: if they could be given a second chance at life, they'd do it again with no qualms.

if they could be given a second chance at life, they'd do it again with no qualms. And that's the reason why I so admire people that do things like this. Explorers, astronauts, soldiers - all those people who put their life ont he line because they believe in something, no matter how personal it is to them. Pioneers of any sort inspire us to greatness, and in performing heroic acts allow us, in our mundane little rat mazes, to live vicariously through them and experience wonder, justice and excitement second-hand.

Tell me about it.
Speed Cameras everywhere. ;)

You don't know what I'm talking about do you? I'm talking about accidents. There are 41,000 deaths on the road each year in the United States on average. Heck, we take risks every day.

They weren't doing a bad job though. They had a good jump on you guys, they just kind of lost the plot after a while.
The casualty figures are just skewed because of the Plesetsk Explosion in 1980.
By the way, the Soviets had a space shuttle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran) too.

they lost because their technology was too decrept and behind the times. We went far past them in the 1980s in practically every facet (military and otherwise) and outspent them.

...

they lost because their technology was too decrept and behind the times. We went far past them in the 1980s in practically every facet (military and otherwise) and outspent them.
Yes. But we fly into space on a regular basis, and, thankfully, no cosmonaut has died since 1971. We must have done something right, after all.

Yes. But we fly into space on a regular basis, and, thankfully, no cosmonaut has died since 1971. We must have done something right, after all.

Pure luck. Afterall, the US flies into space a lot more then you do, so we run higher risks because we do it a lot more.

Yes. But we fly into space on a regular basis, and, thankfully, no cosmonaut has died since 1971. We must have done something right, after all.


I have to give serious praise to the Russian Space Agency for the fact that despite massive budget cuts and older technology, they take more risks and suffer fewer mishaps than NASA seems to...

I'm confident Discovery will return safely, but if something does happen, I'm hedging that there will be public lynchings at Mission control when the crowd of spectators erupts in rage from the stands.


However, I personally think it will all be fine.

Pure luck. Afterall, the US flies into space a lot more then you do, so we run higher risks because we do it a lot more.
Hey, we aren't to blame that we had our own space station and don't carry satellites to space on board of the Soyuzes!

Hey, we aren't to blame that we had our own space station and don't carry satellites to space on board of the Soyuzes!

It is the US taking bigger risks and taking more important missions.

It is the US taking bigger risks and taking more important missions.
Yes, you're taking bigger risks--the space shuttles are very dangerous to fly.

More important missions? That's a matter of opinion, I think.

Yes, you're taking bigger risks--the space shuttles are very dangerous to fly.

More important missions? That's a matter of opinion, I think.

Well I have the belief that the US (and EU to a lesser extent) are the driving forces behind future space travel. The Russians.. well.. have totally fallen behind..

Well I have the belief that the US (and EU to a lesser extent) are the driving forces behind future space travel. The Russians.. well.. have totally fallen behind..
Of course. But, for example, as for now the ISS is manned because we're still able to fly cosmonauts there, and our experience is going to be useful for America and Europe.

Tell me about it.
Speed Cameras everywhere. ;)


They weren't doing a bad job though. They had a good jump on you guys, they just kind of lost the plot after a while.
The casualty figures are just skewed because of the Plesetsk Explosion in 1980.
By the way, the Soviets had a space shuttle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran) too.

I think the Buran has been retired.

Well, the shuttles have lasted 30 years longer past their sell-by date, so their not in top condition. But then, NASA know what their doing. I hope it works out OK, the space programme is generally more of a good than a bad thing, and there's astronout's lives at stake!

Well I'm confident in the shuttle and crew to make it back safely. Considering the fact that Challenger came about 20 years or so after Apollo 1 caught fire and Columbia (the oldest shuttle in the fleet) over 10 years after challenger. Although, yes they should have fixed the problems before launch.

Good job and welcome home Discovery.

Welcome home, Discovery! Woohoo!!! :D

Was there ever any doubt?

Plenty.

Only for whoever posted this thread and made that misleading topic title.

Personally, I think the shuttle program needs to be expanded and enhanced.

Get the HST done and flying.

Get the lifting body ships finished.

Get that blasted station expanded, start putting together a shipyard.

Build a starship.

Next stop:Mars.

Then beyond.

The meek may well inherit the earth...the rest of us are going to the stars.

what has happend - has it landed?

what has happend - has it landed?

Yup! Text-book perfect landing at Edwards AFB in Southern California just under an hour and a half ago =D

And that's the reason why I so admire people that do things like this. Explorers, astronauts, soldiers - all those people who put their life ont he line because they believe in something, no matter how personal it is to them. Pioneers of any sort inspire us to greatness, and in performing heroic acts allow us, in our mundane little rat mazes, to live vicariously through them and experience wonder, justice and excitement second-hand.

Yeah. These are the guys who build civilisations, expand our horizons, and give us astronaut food. We should be thankful, not making bets on their lives... *Glares at certain people*

Was there ever any doubt?

No.

I hate to say I told y... actually, I don't.

I told you so! :p

We probably (hopefully) won't see another accident for a while now. They're a smart bunch over at NASA. I know that launching a space shuttle isn't exactly rocket science, b... actually, it is!

Anyway, congratulations to the Discovery crew for surviving, for a good job, and for proving me right. That'll make the newspapers and everything for sure![/ego]

Only for whoever posted this thread and made that misleading topic title.

Personally, I think the shuttle program needs to be expanded and enhanced.

Get the HST done and flying.

Get the lifting body ships finished.

Get that blasted station expanded, start putting together a shipyard.

Build a starship.

Next stop:Mars.

Then beyond.

The meek may well inherit the earth...the rest of us are going to the stars.

Why would we need a starship to get to Mars? :confused:

Yup! Text-book perfect landing at Edwards AFB in Southern California just under an hour and a half ago =D

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! :) :) :)

They just opened the shuttle.

Now they've covered it up and have declared a press blackout.

Someone said that one of the shuttle astronauts was on fire, yet was not being consumed.

Another one seems to be invisible.

Another one has developed a bad skin condition.

They just opened the shuttle.

Now they've covered it up and have declared a press blackout.

Someone said that one of the shuttle astronauts was on fire, yet was not being consumed.

Another one seems to be invisible.

Another one has developed a bad skin condition.

I'm sorry, but given I'm sitting right here watching the news, I have to call bullshit on those ludicrious claims. It takes like an hour to check everything and sanitize it and make sure there's no toxic gases and what-have-you.

They just opened the shuttle.

Now they've covered it up and have declared a press blackout.

Someone said that one of the shuttle astronauts was on fire, yet was not being consumed.

Another one seems to be invisible.

Another one has developed a bad skin condition.

ROFL

And one was a millionaire who now calls himself Doom. ;)