Posted on 12/09/2006 7:35:11 AM PST by KevinDavis
Will the Shuttle go or not... It all depends on the weather...
Really? It's about time to start seeing some of the big equipment show up. NASA should hire Disney to start making some PR movies.
Kennedy Space Center has an interactive map.. pretty cool. just drag your mouse over the launch sites...
http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/visitKSC/index.asp
Here is an interesting (to me) tidbit of information about Sunita Williams. Among her many sports hobbies she lists bow hunting.
Closing the hatch any minute now.
Rookies get to sit in the mid deck.
I was reading a book where Storey Musgrave, on his last flight (5th or 6th) rode the entire re-entry and landing, standing up. No one was gonna make him take his seat!
I'm in and out, but I'll be here in plenty of time!
I was thinking since there's not much news on a Saturday night, maybe we'll get a lot more TV coverage?
Hey, a girl can hope, can't she?
I still think SpaceX is a sham.
They just lost their #2 guy last week, are several months behind getting their second launch ready and, most tellingly, they still haven't released the ground track video of their last launch failure from start to finish.
Something fishy with Elon Musk and his crew.
Hatch closing.
Time will tell. They do have a big government launch contract, not to mention all the incentive in the world to get the Dragon ready for primetime. I know I'm being very hopeful and not very practical, but how about the Dragon for ISS crew/resupply and Orion for exploration. Two separate systems for two separate tasks. Too much to wish for?
Not gonna happen...........
They just lost their #2 guy last week, are several months behind getting their second launch ready and, most tellingly, they still haven't released the ground track video of their last launch failure from start to finish.
Something fishy with Elon Musk and his crew.
Yeah, perhaps. I've been thinking that their ~$75 million Falcon 9 S9 25 tonne launcher was way too ambitious. But then again, anything that can cut down on the ridiculous costs of something like the Delta IV is worth looking into (though some of Boeing's new designs are extremely interesting, especially a cross-connected Delta IV heavy that can lift 50-100 tonnes).
Anyways, SpaceX still needs to get a 1 tonne Falcon 1 in the air before they can claim to do everything else cheaply (and they still haven't proven that they can refurbish the Merlin engines multiple times). We shall see.
Well, COTS is up for grabs, but I'd like to see Elon and crew actually complete a dozen or so flights before I feel safe with them.
Meanwhile, SeaLaunch is doing a hell of a great job, they had 6 or so perfect launches this year.
And, we have Orbital putting up its first Minotaur from the newly redesigned Wallops Island site in VA. Orbital has a great track record, but they haven't made the jump to bigger rockets yet.
India is the dark horse in all this. They will figure it out and surpass Japan and China and be the next country to launch humans into orbit.
Correction, they will surpass China and Japan in tech, China already has put two crews up.
I think Musk has the right idea. Although Rutan and Branson will have tourist dollars quickly, their flights are not much more than a cheap (expensive) thrill ride. The proposed Dragon, or something similar would be able to interface with not only the ISS, but a Bigelow-derived station as well. The possibilities are endless.
I would like to see us to be involved with Japan/India and Europe... Not China and Russia...
We're at a 70% chance for launch now.
Weather Officer revised forecast to 70% go. Just heard on NASA TV.
Musk has the right idea, but I don't think he understood the realities and costs. And I'm really ticked about their silence on the first failure, they were all open and seeking publicity before the launch, afterwards, they clammed up.
As for Bigelow, I'm wait and see, I still don't think they have much of a business model. Only private launchers I trust now are SeaLaunch and Orbital. Rutan and Branson aren't really doing launches, just really really really high plane flights.
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