Some kids just don't learn.

 

I agree, that's pretty stupid after the history involved.

 

First off...you two have no life on here day and night.

That said...I was shocked I can't believe they are gonna launch.

I just watched a Challenger special the other day. The engineers were screaming to stop and the managers insisted on going.

I really hope this isn't the case again.

 

Well there's something positive to get the minds of Americans off the war.



Disclaimer: While I'm not bashing anyone in office or bringing up a political debate, there just hasn't been anything positive the entire country can celebrate on the 4th lately. Provided the launch goes off without a hitch.

 

I pray for the Astronauts. Seems a little unfair to send them up when they are aware there could be an issue.

 

NASA should abandon this Space Station foolishness, and ground that entire fleet, for good.

That space station will never amount to anything. It's a poor design and will serve no useful purpose.

Just get on with the new Moon landing program and set up a station there.

This is such B.S. having to send up 10 more shuttles to finish a Space Station, that's already obsolete.

My 2 cents.

 

Though many people from many generations have fought and died so that we may have it, the positive thing the entire country can celebrate is FREEDOM! I don't know about you, but living in a free country is postive to me. It deserves celebration.


I think it's crazy to send them up. It's all about the almighty dollar. Ho[efully everything will work out.

 

There is ALWAYS a risk involved in going up. Everyone of those astronaunts are willing to except that risk. If asked I'd go too. a piece of foam that weighs less than a penny isnt a major risk.

Also if one of those astronauts decided there was too much risk, they could stay home. there would be 20 other astronauts jumping at the chance to go.

Also, If we dont continue to push out into space we're not continuing to prosper as the human race. We need to colonize the moon and explore further into space.

My .02

 

Do you think the foam problem is a new one? n

Nope. we just started paying attention to it. Also that piece was MUCH larger

 

We'll she's off and on her way.

 

The piece of foam that was at issue in this circumstance fit into a sandwich bag. If that small of a piece of foam could foil the mission, then the shuttles as a whole should just be dismantled until their replacments are ready...

 

holy crap, did you hear the speeds that they were claiming?

0-6K and some change MPH in 8.?? seconds?
What a rush, imagine the G's!

17K mph orbit speed! Holy crap that's booking some time.

 

Columbia was destroyed when a suitcase-size piece of foam tore a hole in the leading edge of the orbiter's wing, a mishap that was detected by NASA engineers a day after the launch while the orbiter was continuing its mission but downplayed by senior NASA managers (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). When the shuttle re-entered Earth's atmosphere on its return home, superhot gases penetrated the hole and caused the spacecraft to explode.


By 20 seconds into the flight, the shuttle has completed it roll and is accelerating through the atmosphere at about a 78 degree angle. Stress on the shuttle caused by its speed through the atmosphere is further relieved by powering back the main engines. By 45 seconds into the flight, the shuttle breaks the sound barrier. A minute into the flight, the pressure on the orbiter decreases and so the shuttle engines are returned to full power. At this point, the shuttle is traveling at an incredible 1,609 kilometers per hour (1,000 mph) or about Mach 1.5. By the end of the next minute, it will triple this speed!

Two minutes into the ascent, the shuttle is about 45 kilometres (28 miles) above the earth's surface and is traveling nearly 5000 kilometers per hour (3,000 mph). The shuttle's solid rocket boosters, having used their fuel, are commanded by the shuttle's onboard computer to separate from the external fuel tank. Still propelled by their momentum, the spent solid rocket boosters will continue upward, but away from the shuttle, for another 11 kilometres (7 miles) before falling back to earth. Parachutes ejected from the nose cone of the rockets will slow their descent into the ocean some 225 kilometres(140 miles) off the Florida coast. Like the orbiter, the solid rocket boosters are reusable. They will be retrieved, returned to the Kennedy Space Center and shipped to the manufacturer for refurbishing and refueling for a later shuttle mission. The jettison of the booster rockets marks the end of the first ascent stage and the beginning of the second.

 

I got to watch the SS launch from 2600 feet 45DME from the Kennedy Space Center. That was freaking cool to watch. I do agree, the shuttle fleet should be ground and the money NASA gets should be allotted elsewhere. Like the developement of the next USAF Air Refueling Tanker.

KC-10 FE out...

 

Might as well go ahead and say it, someone is playing lemmings