The End of Atlantis

[Coney]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14024109


The 8 July ascent will be the 135th shuttle launch and the 33rd of Atlantis.

End of an era. When are we going to be boldly going again? I think we need to get a manned trip to the asteroid belt next. Fairly straightforward compared to Mars, but expanding the horizons.

[Letters]

Tbh I don't think space exploration has been that exciting since the space race in the 60s culminating in the moon landings.

I'm not convinced we'll get to Mars or do anything else that exciting any time soon, just don't think there's the political will to spend the sort of money that could make that happen <add your own 'is NASA run by Wenger?' joke here>


I did see a Shuttle launch one time when I just happened to be in Florida when one went up. Was pretty bloody impressive.

[Niall_Quinn]

The US space agency (Nasa) is retiring its shuttles to make way for crew and cargo transportation services that will be operated by private companies.

Horrible, horrible, horrible. Space for the shareholders rather than the human race, fucking despicable. I suppose their poxy rockets will carry McDonalds and Nike logos? I hope every last one of the fucking things explodes.

[Coney]

Tbh I don't think space exploration has been that exciting since the space race in the 60s culminating in the moon landings.

I'm not convinced we'll get to Mars or do anything else that exciting any time soon, just don't think there's the political will to spend the sort of money that could make that happen <add your own 'is NASA run by Wenger?' joke here>


I did see a Shuttle launch one time when I just happened to be in Florida when one went up. Was pretty bloody impressive.

Missed a shuttle launch when I was there as it was delayed 2 weeks. This after I'd specifically timed the holiday so it would be in the middle of the fortnight. However, what I REALLY missed was all those years ago which was a Saturn V launch. It was far more spectacular than a shuttle launch (by all accounts) and there is the additional buzz of watching a vehicle launch 3 guys heading for the moon. If I had a time machine, it would have been the Apollo 17 Saturn V launch I'd go for as that one was at night. Must have been spectacular.

If the Chinese keep doing what they are at the moment, which is planning to land men on the moon to start to exploit it, I am hoping that there will be a US-Russia-Europe cooperation to match it and we can get this off the ground again. Sadly, unless there is a competition for economic and/or military domination, it just doesn't happen. So come on the Chinese and let's get the next race under way.

[Letters]

We were lucky 'cos the Shuttle should have gone up before we got there but was delayed.
Less lucky last January (2010, I mean) when we got VIP passes for a launch, went out to the space centre, were told we'd get to tour the place through the night before the launch but actually had less than an hour there, stayed up all night (it was a night launch, would have been amazing) and then the bastard thing was postponed <_<
It was freezing too, Florida does get cold night sometimes, that was one of them. Hmph.

A Saturn V launch would have been amazing, just going to the Kennedy space centre and seeing that one in that hanger, till you see it you can't imagine how bloody big it is. It's incredible it got off the ground much less into space.

[Coney]

We were lucky 'cos the Shuttle should have gone up before we got there but was delayed.
Less lucky last January (2010, I mean) when we got VIP passes for a launch, went out to the space centre, were told we'd get to tour the place through the night before the launch but actually had less than an hour there, stayed up all night (it was a night launch, would have been amazing) and then the bastard thing was postponed <_<
It was freezing too, Florida does get cold night sometimes, that was one of them. Hmph.

A Saturn V launch would have been amazing, just going to the Kennedy space centre and seeing that one in that hanger, till you see it you can't imagine how bloody big it is. It's incredible it got off the ground much less into space.

I give you fair odds that was the reason for the delay. The Challenger explosion was a result of the O-rings freezing and not sealing properly. Although they now have a third rubber seal instead of just the 2 they had before Challenger, when the weather is freezing, there is still a higher risk and they would not have dared launch with that possibility.

[Syn]

Horrible, horrible, horrible. Space for the shareholders rather than the human race, fucking despicable. I suppose their poxy rockets will carry McDonalds and Nike logos? I hope every last one of the fucking things explodes.

Is there anything you don't have a strong opinion about?

How about Fox's Viennese Chocolate - they're alright as far as chocolate biscuits go, right?

[Kaiser]

:haha:

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Is there anything you don't have a strong opinion about?

How about Fox's Viennese Chocolate - they're alright as far as chocolate biscuits go, right?

:popcorn:

[IBK]

Horrible, horrible, horrible. Space for the shareholders rather than the human race, fucking despicable. I suppose their poxy rockets will carry McDonalds and Nike logos? I hope every last one of the fucking things explodes.

Funny - I'm kind of with you here. The Western World no longer does anything for the adventure; the prestige; the boundary pushing...its only to make money or for military aims. We live in very impoverished times, in this regard.

And we will soon realise that our standard of living began to fall years ago - when the cheap consumer goods from former 2nd and 3rd world economies start drying up. Unrestricted capitalism/commercialism rots the soul.

[Niall_Quinn]

Is there anything you don't have a strong opinion about?

How about Fox's Viennese Chocolate - they're alright as far as chocolate biscuits go, right?

No not really, they are completely inferior to another well known brand which I'm not going to mention because I fucking HATE advertising! Hate it FFS!

I'm ambivalent towards Koreans, otherwise I don't allow confusion in my life.

[Letters]

I give you fair odds that was the reason for the delay. The Challenger explosion was a result of the O-rings freezing and not sealing properly. Although they now have a third rubber seal instead of just the 2 they had before Challenger, when the weather is freezing, there is still a higher risk and they would not have dared launch with that possibility.

Yeah, could have been. The reason I heard was cloud cover (quite why a space vehicle can't go through a cloud I don't know!) but the temperature could have been a factor. As you say the Challenger disaster was because of the O rings and the people who made them knew they could potentially fail at those temperatures, told NASA so and were over-ruled. :rolleyes:

[Letters]

I'm ambivalent towards Koreans, otherwise I don't allow confusion in my life.

:haha:

[Master Splinter]

Video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14085502

Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14077893

[dazthegooner]

[QUOTE=Letters (TPFKA WWTL@WHL);17372]Tbh I don't think space exploration has been that exciting since the space race in the 60s culminating in the moon landings.

What Moon landings? ;)

[Xhaka Can’t]

I'm conflicted in my feelings over the end of the Shuttle programme. It is a programme that has operated almost my entire life (Nixon approved it in 1971). I remember getting up really early in the morning to watch the first mission and having to do the same two mornings later as there was a problem just before launch. I was awestruck by it. A few years later I remember coming home from school and watched the Challeger disaster as it happened, and will never for get that or the bravery of those who went on the subsequent mission on Atlantis, though truth be told, I'd have loved to have gone myself. Sadly the closest experience was at an IMAX cinema in Calgary.

However, in addition to the loss of lives in Challenger and Columbia, there was a huge opportunity cost arising from this programme. When Nixon approved the programme, he was told that each flight would cost about $50m, that launches would be every two weeks and that each of the five planned craft would carry out 100 flights before being retired. Flights have in fact cost in excess of $1bn and only 135 missions in total have been undertaken. So while there has been some amazing successes arising from the programme, ultimately it has been a failure, and an expensive one at that. Expensive in terms of resources but the biggest cost has been the loss of alternative programmes that could have advanced our knowledge and our exploration in space to a far greater degree.

I think the Shuttle programme, as exhilarating as it was, has set us back decades.

http://abstrusegoose.com/strips/humans_get_your_ass_to_mars.png

[Xhaka Can’t]

http://i.imgur.com/91JkS.jpg

[Xhaka Can’t]

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q167/GeminiEye/inspace.png