NASA Relies On Thrusters To Steer Space Station After Malfunction

AP via CNN ^ | December 6, 2003 | AP

[John W]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- NASA is relying on Russian-made thrusters to steer the international space station following a new malfunction with the U.S. motion-control system, officials said Friday.

Flight controllers detected spikes in current and vibration in one of the station's three operating gyroscopes on November 8. Last week, when the gyroscopes were used again to shift the position of the orbiting outpost, all three worked.

[Physicist]

That article totally contradicts what you said about the magnets. You said they were obsolete; the article says they were too far beyond the envelope. They couldn't have been both.

[XBob]

40 - "It's the curvature of spacetime. Feel free to tell me what the opposite of that is."

Sorry you have no immagination. if gravity is the curviture of spacetime, then anti-gravity would be the opposite curve - you know - convex versus concave - simple.

No wonder we aren't getting anywhere in physics, if you are any example of an American physicist. You have nothing to contribute to this discussion, only dissention.

The point I was making is that we need a quantum leap in space travel mecanisms/methodolgy or we are never going to get off this planet,

Chemistry is not the way to do it - hopefully physics is, but apparently we have no hope with physicists like you.

[XBob]

41 - "That article totally contradicts what you said about the magnets. You said they were obsolete; the article says they were too far beyond the envelope. They couldn't have been both."

I have said before, I am not a physicist, and have only my memory of news reports of an arcane incident to rely on.

You claim to be a physicist by profession, and apparently know nothing about the Super Collider, and why it was built, and why it was cancelled, and apparently have nothing to contribute.

Perhaps you could contribute your head as a target on a linear accelerator, to see how fast electrons go through empty space.

[Gracey]

one of NASA's problems, IMO, is that the Space Science & Technology committee has to be satisfied, whenever new designs are selected so that Barbara Mikulski and others have to have their fair share in THEIR states, etc. It is this type political crap that causes many of NASA's problems.... along with the fact that NASA has NO dreamers.

The typical government hierarchal mentality, and political correctness has taken over, that's helped creat just another government agency. It was the PREMIER government agency for many, many years.

enuf....

[XBob]

44 - "NASA has NO dreamers"

Your whole post is absolutely correct. The guys who got us to the moon were the guys with 'stars in their eyes'.

They are all now all dead, or retired.

NASA is now just another burro-ocracy - pun intended! And we are going to be stuck on this planet.

It began after the first moon landing (goal accomplished), and has been going down hill ever since.

Any NASA project is now a make work program, and most, starting with the shuttle, were/are designed to impact at least 75 congressional districts, in order to guarantee funding.

And NASA and the space contractors have learned to 'rig' the system to make it so prohibitively expensive, that we can't afford to go anywhere again, other than sending a toy car (much like you get a 6-8 year old boy for christmas) in our stead.

[RadioAstronomer]

Sorry you have no immagination. if gravity is the curviture of spacetime, then anti-gravity would be the opposite curve - you know - convex versus concave - simple.
No wonder we aren't getting anywhere in physics, if you are any example of an American physicist. You have nothing to contribute to this discussion, only dissention.
The point I was making is that we need a quantum leap in space travel mecanisms/methodolgy or we are never going to get off this planet,
Chemistry is not the way to do it - hopefully physics is, but apparently we have no hope with physicists like you.

Ummm... Take some time with this site I am linking to. It is an excellent tutorial you may want to read. After you do (and I mean really study it) take another good look at what you posted:

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm

Here is a nice description of gravity you may also want to look at:

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/GR/gravity.html

[RadioAstronomer]

You claim to be a physicist by profession, and apparently know nothing about the Super Collider, and why it was built, and why it was cancelled, and apparently have nothing to contribute.

Perhaps you could contribute your head as a target on a linear accelerator, to see how fast electrons go through empty space.

Sigh. Physicist has FORGOTTEN more about collider physics than you will ever know. What do you think his PhD is in anyway? You might want to do a bit of research before slamming another freeper.

[RadioAstronomer]

Any NASA project is now a make work program, and most, starting with the shuttle, were/are designed to impact at least 75 congressional districts, in order to guarantee funding.

Pure codswallop.

And NASA and the space contractors have learned to 'rig' the system to make it so prohibitively expensive, that we can't afford to go anywhere again, other than sending a toy car (much like you get a 6-8 year old boy for christmas) in our stead.

More codswallop. Do you have any idea how hard it is to accomplish an interplanetary mission? I do. I flew interplanetaries.

[XBob]

I did do some research - which is why I am so perterbed at Physicist - with all his background in physics he still has nothing he contributes, except challenges to non-physicists, lack of vision and lack of ideas.

[XBob]

48 - "Any NASA project is now a make work program, and most, starting with the shuttle, were/are designed to impact at least 75 congressional districts, in order to guarantee funding.
Pure codswallop."

Apparently you don't know much about it, and how the funding and design structuring comes into being. Nor do you know much about $3 o-rings sold to NASA for $300, or 1 inch sheet metal screws sold to NASA for $89, or pieces of butcher block paper sold to NASA for $100, after putting a part number on them.

[XBob]

48 - "More codswallop. Do you have any idea how hard it is to accomplish an interplanetary mission? I do. I flew interplanetaries."

Yes I do, because I 'flew' a number of them too, and worked with the engineers and technicians to get them there.

The end result of the mars missions were to put a toy car on the surface of Mars, because we haven't made the technological leap to get men there, nor can we afford to make it, because we are wasting our resources.

One of the things necessary to get there successfully, is to learn how to convert metric to standard numbers.

Do you know that it takes an average of 1.2 million signatures to get one shuttle off the ground?

[Gracey]

...Marion Power Shovel, which built them, is now out of business

Oh my. That transporter crawler is the most awesome piece of machinery that mankind has ever designed. I'm sorry to hear that they're out of business... If I remember right we have 3 crawlers???

[Physicist]

Sorry you have no immagination. if gravity is the curviture of spacetime, then anti-gravity would be the opposite curve - you know - convex versus concave - simple.

This merely corresponds to the situation where the gravitating mass is on the opposite side of you. If there were another planet Earth, identical to the one you're standing on, hanging just above your head, it would indeed produce a gravitational field--a curvature--equal and opposite to the one you're in now. In the second before they slammed together, you would be weightless.

If you want to call that antigravity, fine. I call it gravity.

[Physicist]

You claim to be a physicist by profession, and apparently know nothing about the Super Collider, and why it was built, and why it was cancelled, and apparently have nothing to contribute.

I was doing detector development work for the SSC here at Penn when the project was cancelled. I'm orthogonal to your insults.

[XBob]

52 - "That transporter crawler is the most awesome piece of machinery that mankind has ever designed. I'm sorry to hear that they're out of business... If I remember right we have 3 crawlers???"

They certainly are awesome - and there are only two of them. Just imagine, a rolling behemoth 550 feet tall, climbing the hill of the pad. Neither one is in very good shape now, as the spare parts to keep them running just no longer exist, so basically only one runs at a time. Every launch, it is a struggle to get one working to get the bird to the pad. Several times a few years back, they broke part way out (not covered much by the news media though).

[Physicist]

Currently, the gamma-electron-moon detector proposal is scheduled for review in November 1992.

Oh, my! The original article really does say that, doesn't it? I'm sure they mean GEM, the Gamma/Electron/Muon detector. Such a howler hardly instills confidence in the article.

[RadioAstronomer]

Oh my. That transporter crawler is the most awesome piece of machinery that mankind has ever designed. I'm sorry to hear that they're out of business... If I remember right we have 3 crawlers???

When I was at KSC, I was fortunate enough to be able to walk beside a crawler as the Atlantis was being transported to the pad

[RadioAstronomer]

Yes I do, because I 'flew' a number of them too, and worked with the engineers and technicians to get them there.

You were at JPL with us? I wonder if we met.

The end result of the mars missions were to put a toy car on the surface of Mars, because we haven't made the technological leap to get men there, nor can we afford to make it, because we are wasting our resources.

Actually, that was a pretty impressive feat. Manned mission to Mars are still a long ways off. I just want to see us back on the Moon (to stay). We are along way from solving many of the technical manned Mars problems, including funding.

One of the things necessary to get there successfully, is to learn how to convert metric to standard numbers.

I knew people who were on that program. :-( I have been on my share of launch/mission failures. Not exactly a good time had by all.

Do you know that it takes an average of 1.2 million signatures to get one shuttle off the ground?

Since I am not in the "loop" for shuttle launches, I was not aware of this number. However, I did have to deal with the Shuttle ICD 2-19001 series often.

[RadioAstronomer]

Apparently you don't know much about it, and how the funding and design structuring comes into being. Nor do you know much about $3 o-rings sold to NASA for $300, or 1 inch sheet metal screws sold to NASA for $89, or pieces of butcher block paper sold to NASA for $100, after putting a part number on them.

You are correct. I have never been exposed to these particular figures. Again, I was never on the funding end of the Shuttle. Most of my work was with interplanetaries or future Shuttle mission design.

[RightWhale]

one of NASA's problems, IMO, is that the Space Science & Technology committee has to be satisfied, whenever new designs are selected so that Barbara Mikulski and others have to have their fair share in THEIR states

That's not so bad. NASA programs should have an economic impact throughout the USA. NASA was deliberately used to get some economic industry going in the South. True, placing the Johnson Space Center in Texas raised some eyebrows, Texas having nothing to do with the space program at the time except the famous space pioneer LBJ.