Shuttle returns to space

[dotcoma]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/spa...tle/index.html

The spacecraft lifted off as scheduled at 10:39 a.m. ET, following days of troubleshooting to fix a faulty fuel sensor in its external tank. Two minutes after liftoff, Discovery's two solid fuel rocket boosters separated from the orbiter as it raced toward Earth orbit. Before boarding the spacecraft, Discovery crew members, who awoke after midnight, appeared at a traditional photo opportunity wearing matching Hawaiian shirts in the crew dining room as astronaut Steve Robinson strummed a guitar. Later the crew donned space suits for their journey and, by 8:22 a.m. ET, all seven were aboard and strapped in. Commander Eileen Collins was the first to board, giving a confident wave to NASA cameras before entering the cockpit.

So it seems everything went as planned. This raises the question: Is the shuttle still an effective way for the US to conduct business/research in space? Do we need to focus on temporary rockets, or new shuttles?

[gr8fuldaniel]

Quote by: dotcoma Do we need to focus on temporary rockets, or new shuttles?

Its a waste of money and man power.

[dotcoma]

In your opinion...lol

Space exploration has created jobs and has increased our knowledge about science...hardly a waste in my opinion.

[oranged]

Quote by: dotcoma In your opinion...lol Space exploration has created jobs and has increased our knowledge about science...hardly a waste in my opinion.

I agree, we could also do a lot of iron mining on Mars.

[tman_ndsu08]

Quote by: dotcoma In your opinion...lol Space exploration has created jobs and has increased our knowledge about science...hardly a waste in my opinion.

There is no profit in space, right now. And there is certainly no knowledge out there for us to gain that we haven't already with telescopes.

As far as I'm concerned, the government shouldn't be allowed to use our tax dollars to ever put another man into space unless there is something important to do up there.

[Chris]

I agree with dotcoma and oranged. So many new technologies that we all benefit from have come from the space program.

[Whodoe!]

I wish they would conspire to make their missions, at least, sound more interesting. How many more times must they study the zero gravity effects on frog teeth?

We watched the launch today and wondered about their stated mission. It was something about the practice repair of intentionally damaged things. I mean, out of a list of 50 items, there has to a couple that sound better than that! They should just say it is classified, at least then the rumors would constantly and inexpensively fly.

[tman_ndsu08]

Quote by: |Chris| I agree with dotcoma and oranged. So many new technologies that we all benefit from have come from the space program.

LOL!

Such as?!

[ibm]

a complete waste of money and resources imo.

[Chris]

Quote by: tman_ndsu08 LOL! Such as?!

Cordless Power Tools and Appliances
Smoke Detector
Clean Water for the Home
Home Insulation
Laser Heart Surgery
Body Imaging
New Arms and Legs
Infrared Thermometer
Light emitting diodes (LED)
Composite Forceps
Pill-Sized Transmitters
Chromosome Analysis
Digital Mammography
Camera on a Chip
Firefighter Breathing System
Powerful Jaws for Rescue Tools
Crop Management from Orbit
Crop Dusters Improve Their Aim
Helmet Padding
Golfball Aerodynamics
Virtual Reality
Global Communications
(At the airport:)
Lightning Protection
Windshear Prediction
Collision Avoidance
Weather prediction
GPS navigation
effectively fighting forest fires


http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home.html

[bishop]

they're using a lot of nanotech stuff too from what i've read.

[RickSp]

The manned space program is akin to pyramid building. What other great technologies might have we discovered if we didn't waste so much money on projects based more on prestige than scientific need? The shuttle itself has never made sense in either scientific or economic terms. Now it is a patched together program flying a few overaged and outdated junkers.

Everything we now do in the manned space program, with the possible exception of killing astronauts, we could do with unmanned probes and satellites.

[tman_ndsu08]

Quote by: |Chris| Cordless Power Tools and Appliances Smoke Detector Clean Water for the Home Home Insulation Laser Heart Surgery Body Imaging New Arms and Legs Infrared Thermometer Light emitting diodes (LED) Composite Forceps Pill-Sized Transmitters Chromosome Analysis Digital Mammography Camera on a Chip Firefighter Breathing System Powerful Jaws for Rescue Tools Crop Management from Orbit Crop Dusters Improve Their Aim Helmet Padding Golfball Aerodynamics Virtual Reality Global Communications (At the airport:) Lightning Protection Windshear Prediction Collision Avoidance Weather prediction GPS navigation effectively fighting forest fires http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home.html

What you've just said is effectively the same thing as saying that:

glass
aluminum
rubber
piston engines
ball bearings
etc.


were invented by the automobile program.


Obviously these were all seperate inventions that came about long before they were implemented in automobiles.


And quite obviously, all the above things were invented well before they were implemented in the space program.

[tman_ndsu08]

Quite frankly, here is the simple fact:

if left to the market, there would be no men in space that didn't pay for their own trip there.

[Chris]

Quote by: tman_ndsu08 Obviously these were all seperate inventions that came about long before they were implemented in automobiles. And quite obviously, all the above things were invented well before they were implemented in the space program.

Obviously you didnt click on the link. So you incorrectly say they were already invented

i.e.

Cordless Power Tools and Appliances Do you use a cordless drill or shrub trimmer? How about a Dustbuster®? Did you know that the technology that made these products possible came from NASA's Apollo program? Astronauts needed a way to drill down beneath the moon's surface, as much as 10 feet, to collect core samples. Like everything else that went to the moon, this drill had to be small, lightweight and battery-powered. To develop the drill, NASA chose a company that has since become well known for its cordless products: Black and Decker. A key technological advance made the battery-powered drill possible -- a computer program was used to design the drill's motor to use as little power as possible. That computer program, along with the knowledge and experience gained in developing the drill, provided a strong technology base for developing battery powered tools and appliances. Black and Decker now sells approximately 400 million dollars worth of cordless, rechargeable products per year. Smoke Detector Fighting FireHopefully you've never been waked up in the middle of the night by a smoke detector. It would be bad enough in your home, but imagine having a fire on your space ship! In the 1970's, NASA needed a smoke and fire detector for Skylab, America's first space station. Honeywell, Inc. developed the unit for NASA. Smoke detectors are now required by law to be placed in all new homes. They are credited with saving countless lives. Home Insulation Until recently, home insulation has not been a very exact science. But would you believe there's now a company that will install insulation then guarantee that your house will only use a specified number of kilowatt hours per year? It's true, thanks to an aluminum heat shield developed for Apollo spacecraft. The heat shield was designed as a barrier to keep heat or cold or in or out of the spacecraft that took our astronauts to the moon. The Guaranteed Watts Saver SystemTM is marketed by Guaranteed Watts Saver Systems, Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina and Smart-House Consultants, Inc. of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They combine space technology and other high tech ideas to provide significant savings in home heating and cooling costs. Their NASA-derived Smart-House Radiant Barrier is designed to reflect away 95 percent of the sun's radiant energy.

and so on and so on and so on Funny how you dismiss the advances of weather prediction thanks to space sattelites. But I suppose you are one of those people who wishes he lived back in 1860, with all the fine weather predicting they did back then.

[tman_ndsu08]

Chris, if you actually read what you were saying then you would realize that the space program itself did not invent these things!

They were invented FOR the space program, not by them!


IE, if the space program hadn't been around, the market would've requested them, and they would've been invented all the same.

[Chris]

How do you know that? Did you use your time-traveling Delorean?

Again ignoring the benefits of Sattelite phones, GPS and better weather prediction, possibly saving hundreds of lives each year.

[gr8fuldaniel]

Quote by: |Chris| possibly saving hundreds of lives each year

Just think of all the millions of people we can kill more efficiently with the new laser technology and star wars.

[RickSp]

Chris, I know this is a waste of time, but assuming that GPS or Sat Phones or better weather predicion would not have been invented if not as part of NASA's boondoggle is crazy. Your examples are also inaccurate.

(GPS was developed and is still maintained by the Department of Defence. The current GPS was an outgrowth of Transit, a Navy satellite system originated in the 1950s. The spaceprogram may have utilized the same technology but did not develop it.)

As tman_ndsu08 so accurately points out, all the space program has done is to divert money out of the economy. If those resources remained in the marketplace, who knows what technology might have been developed if the space program had not existed. The secondary benefits of the space program have to be less than would have occurred independently if left to the marketplace.

[gr8fuldaniel]

From the "Some People never Learn" files:

A new array of cameras trained on Discovery during Tuesday's launch showed a small piece of debris falling from the underside of the orbiter. NASA officials said the debris could have come from a tile near a door covering the nose landing gear.

Look for another exciting re-entry, just like the last one.

Edit to add link: CNN