Re: Space, the Final Frontier....


"John" <JBKrug4874@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1181193270.939696.35100@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jun 6, 8:27 pm, "volkfolk" <volkf...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"John" <JBKrug4...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:1181177968.231399.24180@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Earthlings:
......The "shuttle" ship Atlantis is out to launch this coming Friday
at about 7:30 P.M. (U.S. Eastern)/4:30 P.M. (Pacific) on a trip to
continue finishing the international space station (ISS). Many on
the U.S. East Coast ought to be able to get a glimpse of the takeoff
since it's scheduled to happen around sunset....

I saw the last flight before the Challenger explosion, from our family
beach
house in Sea Island, GA (about 130 miles away. Even from that distance it
lite up the sky for miles around. It is a truely impressive sight.

Unfortunately, but as should be expected, the three
remaining shuttles (sic) are wearing out. There is a serious concern
about the pressure tanks associated with the engines. It would not be
a good thing if these tanks ruptured. Replacements aren't possible
right now because the company that makes them is out of business.
More details at the link:

The Space Shuttle was a 35 year, trillion dollar detour in NASA's ability
to
effectively do meaningful science, explore space and establish a
permanent
presence on the Moon. The "new" Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and Ares I
and Ares V launch vehicle are essentially reinventions of what at the
time
was the most advanced technical acheivement of it's day.

I am speaking of the Apollo Program of course. In 1970, with the Saturn V
and the Apollo Spacecraft hardware we had the ability to launch huge
payloads into Earth orbit. We had a space station with living space that
rivals the ISS's living and working areas in the form of Skylab, and most
importantly a proven method of saving the crew during launch if there
were a
Challenger like accident.

We threw it all away so that we could build the Space Shuttle, which has
never worked as advertised, a cheaper, more reliable means of putting
payloads in to orbit, based on it's "reusability". That turned out to be
a
fucking joke on every level, it is maintaince nightmare, requiring a
total
overhaul after every flight

Good fucking riddance as far as I am concerned. The Orion is an upgraded,
larger, second generation Apollo Spacecraft and is going to be a much
better, more logical replacement for a spacecraft which should have never
been built in the first place

We should have followed the Russian model for spaceflight, which was and
is,
if ain't broke, don't fix it. The Russians are using fifty year old
technology to fly to the ISS. They STILL use the same booster that put
Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin into orbit to put men into orbit, with a
remarkable
safety record. If we had done the same thing with Apollo, there is no
doubt
in my mind that we would have a permanent base on the moon as well as a
far
larger and better ISS.

Just one more reason why this country has it's head up it's ass when it
comes to how we spend money and allocate resources to tackle problems

http://www.space.com/news/ft_070604_aging_orbiters.html

I hope the launch goes off okay. Prayers would not be
inappropriate for those who believe in such things ....

I completely agree with this sentiment. I'm not a praying man, but
prayers
are in order anytime people ride on the ticking time bomb that is the
Space
Shuttle

Scot

Hi:.... Mr. Scot's points are well taken...Anything in the future the
U.S. does in space with the same resolve like Apollo probably depends
on China if they decide to come up with their own super "Sputnik"
surprise. That's likely the only thing that will motivate most
Americans for such a project just like what happened in 1957.

The Chinese ARE going to the Moon. No question about it, and they are
probably going to beat us back there too. I think that the Cninese will make
it to the Moon in less than ten years.

Otherwise, I think the question may be rather open as to whether
anything post-shuttle beyond orbit will really get off the ground any
time soon....We'll see....~J

Actually, it's going to happen according to the most recent stuff that I
have seen out of NASA's website. They are using some modified Shuttle
equipement, both the External Fuel Tank and solid Rocket boosters are going
to be part of Both the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles

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

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/umbilical_inspection.html

Scot


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