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glojo
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
smartbrabus said:Case in point here. Any software peeps will know that this was a schoolboy error
Hi smartbrabus,
Nice to know NASA is not the only organization capable of such a schoolboy error
http://www.thinctanc.co.uk/articles/1999_09_nasamarsprobe.html
Thanks for the link and thank goodness these were unmanned missions.
Regards,
John
Satch
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I had been visisting the US for quite while before I realised how different the US Gallon is to the Imperial, which was distorting my view of relative fuel consumptions.
1 US gallon = 3.785 litres
1 Imperial gallon = 4.546 Litres
Hope NASA never makes that mistake
1 US gallon = 3.785 litres
1 Imperial gallon = 4.546 Litres
Hope NASA never makes that mistake
Flyer
MB Enthusiast
Not the Space Shuttle, but the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is due to launch at 1245BST today. Live coverage on NASA TV.
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glojo
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Flyer said:
Hi Flyer,
Thanks very much for taking the time to post your message. I will make sure I'm logged on.
Regards,
John
Edit:
24 hour delay in lift off.
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wallingd
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www.spaceflightnow.com:
1250 GMT (8:50 a.m. EDT)
SCRUB! Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will not begin its 310 million mile voyage to the Red Planet today after a sensor problem cropped up during fueling of the Centaur upper stage with liquid hydrogen. The launch team will prepare for another attempt tomorrow, pending resolution of the problem. The window is 7:43 to 9:43 a.m. EDT (1143-1343 GMT).
1250 GMT (8:50 a.m. EDT)
SCRUB! Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will not begin its 310 million mile voyage to the Red Planet today after a sensor problem cropped up during fueling of the Centaur upper stage with liquid hydrogen. The launch team will prepare for another attempt tomorrow, pending resolution of the problem. The window is 7:43 to 9:43 a.m. EDT (1143-1343 GMT).
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glojo
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Just heard NASA has found a 5" split in the foam insulation lining on the external fuel tank. I wonder how this will effect the program?
Not sure I like a July 4th launch date either, I have NEVER been superstitous, but July 4th is always a day of celebration in the USA and perish the thought of anything going wrong, but it would certainly put a damper on this very significant date?
Fingers crossed all goes well.
John
Not sure I like a July 4th launch date either, I have NEVER been superstitous, but July 4th is always a day of celebration in the USA and perish the thought of anything going wrong, but it would certainly put a damper on this very significant date?
Fingers crossed all goes well.
John
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Another vehicle loss would almost certainly shut down the shuttle programme, which is due to be retired anyway in 2010.
It would also leave the half-finished ISS project in crisis as the orbiter fleet has been integral to its construction.
Those words are on the end of every BBC news article on the shuttle. I think they have a certain ring of finality about them.
Lets hope it goes well. I firmly believe that space exploration is key to the future of humanity.
-simon
It would also leave the half-finished ISS project in crisis as the orbiter fleet has been integral to its construction.
Those words are on the end of every BBC news article on the shuttle. I think they have a certain ring of finality about them.
Lets hope it goes well. I firmly believe that space exploration is key to the future of humanity.
-simon
smartbrabus
Active Member
I don't like the sound of that. They already have one non-functioning thruster... Depending on where on the tank the split is could mean this particular mission gets postponed indefinitely until they sort it out.glojo said:
wallingd
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glojo said:
Wowee.
No I don't think we're going to see a shuttle launch tomorrow. It all feels a bit what's-the-point-in-carrying-on.
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glojo
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wallingd said:
I listened to the full NASA press briefing and it was very non commital. They stated that if an inspection of the area was required then that inspection would put the launch back at least 24hrs??? At present no one has decided on what hte course of action will be.
They have stated that this piece of foam was not life threatening and it is possible to launch??? I would be very surprised if they do.
From what I have read the European Space Station has a very limited life span which was based on the Space Shuttle supplying the great majority of supplies, bits etc. I cannot help but wonder what the fate of this station will be if the shuttle is grounded??
John
smartbrabus
Active Member
In that scenario I suspect the ISS would continue to be manned by a reduced crew of 2 as it has been for the last few years, supported only by the Russian Soyuz and Progress vehicles. Since the remaining parts of the station were designed to be brought to orbit inside the shuttle's payload bay I doubt any further construction of the station would take place for the forseeable future.glojo said:
wallingd
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Aah I was just going to post the same link. I'v got <250MB of internet left in my current monthly 2GB limit, but I think I can survive this event.
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glojo
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
wallingd said:
If you have Sky then on Sky News you van press the red button and it has the same link. Sky is slightly in front of NASA TV??Everything is still looking good for a 7.38pm lift off.
John
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There it goes!
-simon
-simon
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When we see the Space Shuttle sitting on a launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid fuel rocket boosters or SRB's for short. The SRB's are made by Thiokol at their factory at Utah.
The engineers who designed the SRB's wanted to have them made in one piece so there were no inconvenient joints that might, for example, leak in cold launch conditions, allow hot combustion gases to escape and rupture the main fuel tank during a launch. But they had to be shipped in from the remote Thiokol factory because US politics had dictated exactly where they were to be made. So they had to be made in segments and shipped by train from the factory to the launch site.
The railway line from the factory happens to run through tunnels in the mountains. The SRB segments therefore had to fit through the tunnels. The tunnels are slightly wider than the railroad track.
The US standard railway gauge is 4ft 8 1/2 inches. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the first US railways.
And why did they use that gauge?
Because when George Stephenson was building the Stockton & Darlington Railway he decided the rail gauge should be just over 4 ft 8 1/2 ins. The reason for this was that was the width of the horse drawn wagonway at Killingworth Colliery. However, after Stephenson had made this decision, other railway chief engineers followed his example and used the same rail gauge.
Why did the people who built the wagonway use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the Killingworth and other wagonways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
So why did the wagons have that particular wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old roads, because that was the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads?
Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads for their legions. The roads have been used ever since
And the ruts in the roads?
Roman chariots & wagons formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing
So the United States standard railroad gauge of 4ft 8 1/2 inches is thus directly derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman wagon or chariot which were made wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two horses.
So, a major design feature of what is arguably still the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ****.
I thank you.
The engineers who designed the SRB's wanted to have them made in one piece so there were no inconvenient joints that might, for example, leak in cold launch conditions, allow hot combustion gases to escape and rupture the main fuel tank during a launch. But they had to be shipped in from the remote Thiokol factory because US politics had dictated exactly where they were to be made. So they had to be made in segments and shipped by train from the factory to the launch site.
The railway line from the factory happens to run through tunnels in the mountains. The SRB segments therefore had to fit through the tunnels. The tunnels are slightly wider than the railroad track.
The US standard railway gauge is 4ft 8 1/2 inches. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the first US railways.
And why did they use that gauge?
Because when George Stephenson was building the Stockton & Darlington Railway he decided the rail gauge should be just over 4 ft 8 1/2 ins. The reason for this was that was the width of the horse drawn wagonway at Killingworth Colliery. However, after Stephenson had made this decision, other railway chief engineers followed his example and used the same rail gauge.
Why did the people who built the wagonway use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the Killingworth and other wagonways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
So why did the wagons have that particular wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old roads, because that was the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads?
Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads for their legions. The roads have been used ever since
And the ruts in the roads?
Roman chariots & wagons formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing
So the United States standard railroad gauge of 4ft 8 1/2 inches is thus directly derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman wagon or chariot which were made wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two horses.
So, a major design feature of what is arguably still the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ****.
I thank you.
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