Posted on 03/20/2008 3:27:42 PM PDT by bobbyd
If you have ever wondered what they have built at the space station...have a look ....
This is a great animation showing all the segments of the Space Station, the modules and the international partners that have helped create it.
This is what we've been hauling in Shuttle flights for the past several years! This is far more complex and larger than most people know about...
http://www.tietronix.com/anim/MoviePlayer.asp?myMovie=movies/assembly640x360.swf
bflr = bump for later reading
bttt
Simply awesome. Very cool. I take back most (but not all) of my criticism of NASA and the shuttle program.
“This is what we’ve been hauling in Shuttle flights for the past several years!”
It’s been under construction since November 1998, NASA et al claim it will be completed in 2010; it has so far used 25 STS (space shuttle) launches, and all (or perhaps nearly all) remaining STS launches will be to finish the ISS.
http://iss.jaxa.jp/iss/construct/index_e.html
If it wasn’t for the Columbia disaster, I think it could have been completed sooner.
And relying so heavily on the Russians.
Thanks Bill Clinton!
Great animation.
And I STILL consider this Reagan’s Space Station FREEDOM.
True... NASA under Clinton bad.. NASA under Carter I can’t say what I’m thinking cause it would get me banned.. NASA under Obama or Clinton, same situtation..
bobbyd,
Yep, stevie_d_64 and I had a hand in making that happen. A few other FReepers have played a role in the space program as well, some small, some large. But since most FReepers pay taxes, they are really the ones to thank for making it possible.
Whether it was worth the price may determine on how it is utilized, and that likely will fall to the next Administration to determine. And who that will be, falls back to us to determine in November.
After the Clinton Administration cuts, and the shotgun wedding with the Russians, I think it could be better called Fredovich.
Or after all the trials and tribulations of the Clinton and Bush Administrations, maybe space station Freddie Krueger - the patchwork monster of a program that refuses to die.
The ISS is essentially uesless. It’s in a higher orbit than necessary to stage Lunar or Mars missions from. So it will basically be a dead end. What it has done is given us experience with constructing large structures in space, which will be vital for going to Mars and beyond.
I’m supposed to be impressed??? This is a damned boondoggle. I can see a method how we could have launched this much crap in 3-4 rocket launches tops.
Well yea possibly. But then it would be about 10 times the size of the current shuttles, the main engine and boosters as well as external fuel tanks would also be at least 10 times bigger likely more. Which means the lift off noise would be much louder etc. Then once you get it up there you have a docking issue and installation issue to contend with also. The weight alone from such a vehicle docked to the space station would cause a disaster. Of course I'm not a rocket scientist though. Then you have to figure out how the get them home without burning up on re-entry.
Overall NASA has done a good job getting man into space. You send Military pilots up even in peace time a percentage are going to die. You strap man to rockets for space the same thing. Think about this. Russia can send I think three men at a time up. We can send 7 plus a sizable payload as well with the onboard equipment to install it once docked.
http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Russia_Could_Stop_Tourist_Flights_To_ISS_From_2010_999.html
Russia Could Stop Tourist Flights To ISS From 2010
Space tourist flights to the International Space Station could be stopped from 2010 due to a planned increase in crew numbers on the station, the head of the Russian space agency said Friday.
“As part of our current program, space tourist flights to the ISS will continue. But from 2010, difficulties could emerge due to planned increases in ISS crew numbers to between six and nine members,” Anatoly Perminov told journalists.
Space tourists started flying to the ISS in 2001. American Richard Garriott, due to fly to the ISS this coming fall, will become the sixth space tourist.
Dennis Tito, an American businessman and former NASA scientist, became the first space tourist when he visited the ISS in 2001. He was followed by South African computer millionaire Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, and Gregory Olsen, a U.S. entrepreneur and scientist, in 2005.
In 2006 Anousheh Ansari, 40, a U.S. passport holder of Iranian descent and communications head, became the first female space tourist, followed by Charles Simonyi, 58, a U.S. passport holder born in Hungary and a key figure in developing Microsoft’s Word and Excel applications, in 2007.
The space tourists paid about $20 million each for the pleasure of spending a week on the orbital station, but Russia said the price for commercial space flights was set to rise in the future, reaching $25 million.
The ISS needs to be strictly research and not a space hotel. I'm not against private enterprise doing such but any way you look at it U.S. taxpayers are going to be footing part of their bill. NASA such as it is has been one of the few government ran agencies which greatly changed the course of the nation for the better. The U.S. would also be wise to consider carefully just how much control Russia has on ISS. The numbers need to be kept honest The political climate in Russia like weather is subject to drastic change.
Today, April 13th is Boom Day. That’s waht Jim Lovell calls it. He says he calls Fred Haise every April 13th to recognize this anniversary. They, along with Jack Swigert sruvuved the most harrowing spaceflight ever.
If Russia ever gets their Klipper spacecraft going, they may bring back tourist flights. The Klipper is supposed to be the next generation manned spacecraft for Russia. It’ll seat up to six crew members and will look something like the Dynasoar NASA and the USAF tinkered with back in the sixties. At any rate, if offered a chance to ride a Soyuz or Shuttle, I’d jump at the chance.
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