Space Shuttle's Left Wing May Be Damaged

nbc4.com ^ | 20070612 | NBC News space correspondent Jay Barbree

[DBrow]

“I think they already have the capability to land it without the pilot on board.”

No, unless something has changed recently.

[DBrow]

Thanks, Stevie D!

[doorgunner69]

Bring back KIWI!

Hoo Boy! I remember reading about that one: so radioactive it was on a robot train track, remotely pulled in and out for testing............

[Paul Ross]

The shuttles have no business in space, especially when we have much, much better technology.

Not developed and flying, we don't.

[Paul Ross]

For those older than me...how in the HELL do you sit still through a shuttle launch and landing?

Prayer and faith. And then sit back and enjoy the ride....no use fretting.

[RightWhale]

The pilot takes controls for the landing because he wants to fly it in because he is a pilot and pilots fly.

[buccaneer81]

Don't you still have to pay the equivalent of a 'vat' tax on that gift though?

That, I don't know. I'm in the technology/production end of things at Boehringer-Ingelheim.

[BigCinBigD]

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA.

[Doe Eyes]

It may take 500 years, but we need to do it. It’s destiny.

I agree, somewhat.

At this point, we cannot put a human into low-medium earth orbit for less that a billion dollars.

What would a permanent settlement on the Moon or Mars costs? Are you willing to pay for it?

[Huck]

Are you willing to pay for it?

Pro-rated over 500 years? Sure.

[Quix]

We need to stop putting people up there in 40 year old equipment.

= = =

Especially if rumors are true that we have 50 or so year old equipment &/or newer

which will go to the moon, Mars, Titan etc. lickety split with virtually no danger to the crew.

[XBob]

“I would love to be proven wrong, because I like the shot.”

It is quite lovely, and you are right, quite fake. That angle of attack as seen behind the flag would only happen if it were crashing into the ocean, as that rocket is approximately 450 feet tall, and doesn’t have the structural integrity to hold together in the lower atmosphere, and high speed. Also, note the cloud around the middle, where the aerodynamics buffet with breaking the sound barrier.

However, this is the poor description of a layman in aerodynamics (me), and we really need an aeronautical engineer to explain it. I have analyzed many videos and photos of the shuttle and its shock waves, particularly the challenger and colombia. Explore further, you will be intrigued.

[XBob]

“H
as instrumentation problems been ruled out as a reason for the indicated left wing problem?”

---

I have been busy with other stuff, and didn’t follow myself. However, I did hear of one report where they blamed it on two malfunctioning sensors, but that was only a ‘drive by’ reporta, and the problem has since ‘disappeared’ as they strive to keep the space station from crashing down on us, due to malfunctioning compuers and gyroscopes.

As of this moment, at 0530, they still have not been successful, for 2 days now, in getting the russian computers working right, and the latest info I have is that now the russians are not set up to recieve transmissions from the space station to fix the computer problem.

So, every one may punt, and head for their lifeboats.

Remember, duck and cover.

[from occupied ga]

It’s expensive, worthless and most of all, dangerous.

Yep - but not worthless. It provides a significant amount of vote buying with taxpayer money in the engineering Ph D community. This is very worthwhile to a politician (but maybe not to the taxpayers)

[XBob]

“You would think NASA would have added an autonomous or remote control landing capability to the shuttle during the two years they spent fixing it after Columbia.”

The shuttle has had automated landing capabilities for 25+ years. The pilots are just along for the ride, but so as to make them feel important, they allow them to land the last few minutes before touchdown.

That is not the problem: I don’t think they have enough O2 and supplies to stay on the space station until they can get another rescue shuttle launched, and particularly now, since the whole thing may run out of power in a few days if they don’t get the computers fixed to get the gyros working properly to position the solar panels to generate electricity to run the whole shebang.

[from occupied ga]

We do know that the budget for the entire year for NASA was equal to what the President initially promised to 'fight' AIDS in Africa...said 'aid' having far surpassed that number now.

So your "logic" is "having wasted $15 billion of what the taxpayers worked hard for on one stupid thing, it makes perfect sense to throw away another equivalent amount of something equally stupid." Jorje Bush's public spending patterns aren't anything to use as a standared of fiscal responsibility.

[XBob]

“You’re alive :-)”

Yes !! - The VA keeps trying to kill me, but I have fooled them again and again. But each year they get closer and closer. This last time it took the help of an ‘American’ physicians assistant to help me through the battlements of the foreign ‘doctors’ and American BURROcrats.

Boy, I feel sorry for the young Vets coming back from the Iraq and Afghan Wars. They don’t know what real battle is, yet.

[XBob]

good observation:

ad astra per aspera — to the stars with difficulties

[stevie_d_64]

I guess you know how “interesting” the software patches they have had to create that integrate the western software and the Russian stuff has always been an extreme challenge...Thats more than likely the culprit...But I was never a software guy...

I bet the geek squad is all over this like white on rice...

I’m sure, give them another full day 24 hours, and this will be uplinked and fixed...

In the mean time somebody’s going to do a stitch in nine, and look out over the port side and take a gander at those carbon leading edge panels...

I believe this is going to peek by tomorrow, and the shuttle will come down for a nice touchdown by the end of the weekend, or early next week...

No harm, no foul...

[P-40]

it makes perfect sense to throw away another equivalent amount of something equally stupid

We get something from NASA, even if what we get is beyond the understanding of most of the general public. We will get zero from the billions sent to Africa, for whatever reason.