No Wonder the Space Shuttle Has Problems....

[vifferman]

IN The Harold this morning, there was an article from Reuters about the Shuttle returning today. It included a pretty diagram (credited to NASA) summarising the return. Nice. However, if the article is indicative of the general standard of quality assurance NASA has, then it's no wonder they're having problems.
The text accompanying the pictures comprised less than 100 words, including the following gems:
preperation
postition
motar
speed breaks (X2)
manuvering

[Sniper]

Sounds like typical americans. Hehehe thanks Viff

[idb]

IN The Harold this morning, there was an article from Reuters about the Shuttle returning today. It included a pretty diagram (credited to NASA) summarising the return. Nice. However, if the article is indicative of the general standard of quality assurance NASA has, then it's no wonder they're having problems.
The text accompanying the pictures comprised less than 100 words, including the following gems:
....
motar
....
You've got to worry if you're sitting in the shuttle waiting to come home and the dispatches arriving from Control are of this quality.
You'd be making sure that you clarified everything in the flight plan.

I hope that the bloke on the space walk the other day wasn't misled by poor spelling and ended up removing the motor on the shuttle not the mortar.

[vifferman]

I hope that the bloke on the space walk the other day wasn't misled by poor spelling and ended up removing the motor on the shuttle not the mortar.
Apparently the drag chutes come out of one of the "motars". So maybe it's some weird technical term for a 'drag chute cupboard'.

[idb]

Seriously though, how nervous would you be at the moment sitting in that shuttle waiting to start descending.
Now that would make great reality TV.

[crashe]

They are landing at around 8.40pm NZ time tonight.

[Wolf]

They are landing at around 8.40pm NZ time tonight.
If they're lucky, they'll be able to walk away from it...

If the drag chutes deploy from the "motar" then it may well be "mortar" - as in a tube that fires something - AFAIK, drag chutes are fired out.

[bugjuice]

could always wind the window down and hold their space suits out to cause some drag.. Or do what Homer did with the monotrain, make a big anchor from the W.. mmmmm doughnuts..

i remember the last accident actually. I happened to be in LA at the time. Almost every channel had it showing 'live'.. which was ironic, cos I was just getting into a live car chase that was going on in town..

Do feel for them tho. They must be poopin bricks at the moment.. I know I would be. In fact, I'd hang around in the space station and catch the next one..

[vifferman]

If they're lucky, they'll be able to walk away from it...

If the drag chutes deploy from the "motar" then it may well be "mortar" - as in a tube that fires something - AFAIK, drag chutes are fired out.
It's still a cock-up.

I was reading about the astronut that was going to go out to fix the heat shield spacers, armed with some forceps, and a 'hacksaw' made from a blade, some duct tape and other assorted crap. :weird:
Luckily, he was able to remove the spacers with the forceps. Good luck trying to cut ceramic tiles with that 'hacksaw' - having done extensive tiling around home, there's no way he could cut ceramic with that, especially wearing those bulky gloves. Even my special abrasive tile hacksaw was next to feckin useless, and hangs on my gargre wall, essentially unused....

Y'know, for something that's supposedly pretty high-tech and all that, and costs such a huge amount of money, it continually amazes me how crappy and primitive a lot of it all is.

[Wolf]

Do feel for them tho. They must be poopin bricks at the moment.. I know I would be. In fact, I'd hang around in the space station and catch the next one..
I'd rather take my chances with my space suit and one of the drag chutes than come back in the shuttle - Ultimate HALO experience. And if you die, Hell, what a way to go.

Actually, I'd deploy the chute just before I hit rarified air, it's designed to assist in braking the shuttle so it should be big enough to slow the reentry of a couple of hundred kilos to way below burn-to-a-crisp speed...

[idb]

I'd rather take my chances with my space suit and one of the drag chutes than come back in the shuttle - Ultimate HALO experience. And if you die, Hell, what a way to go.

Actually, I'd deploy the chute just before I hit rarified air, it's designed to assist in braking the shuttle so it should be big enough to slow the reentry of a couple of hundred kilos to way below burn-to-a-crisp speed...
Sounds like a job for Superman.....

[Wolf]

Just a query on etiquette:

If you're looking up at the sky tonight and see the shuttle burning up on reentry, would it be "bad form" to make a wish on it?

[Lou Girardin]

Y'know, for something that's supposedly pretty high-tech and all that, and costs such a huge amount of money, it continually amazes me how crappy and primitive a lot of it all is.

It's 27 years old.
Just look at the quality of your average '80s yankmobile. :puke:

[crashe]

Sounds like a job for Superman.....

Ummmmm he died recently....



Just a query on etiquette:

If you're looking up at the sky tonight and see the shuttle burning up on reentry, would it be "bad form" to make a wish on it?

Ummmmmmmmm yep I would think it would be bad form.

[idb]

Ummmmm he died recently....

Then we're all doomed.......!

[Wolf]

Ummmmm he died recently....
They brought him back - complete with "fetching" new hair style (and no one noticed that Clark Kent is now sporting the same style, as usual, dumb-arsed Metropolitans). I think they should have left him dead.

[Indiana_Jones]

I thought they had issues because the ships are old and cruddy and the government has cut their funding down to a bag of peanuts a year lol.

P.S. I can't spell for bollocks too :motu:

-Indy

[Waylander]

i remember the last accident actually. I happened to be in LA at the time. Almost every channel had it showing 'live'.. which was ironic, cos I was just getting into a live car chase that was going on in town..

Do feel for them tho. They must be poopin bricks at the moment.. I know I would be. In fact, I'd hang around in the space station and catch the next one..
I was under it when it happend. It was sickening to see once we found out it was the shuttle. And then them finding bits of thier uniforms or clothing all around the highways and shit...

[froggyfrenchman]

well those yanks never cease to amaze me

[forty two]

can watch what's going on on NASA tv, linked of nasa.com. Not altogether smooth tranmission but still interesting.

[Dafe]

Looks like the shuttles path is going to cross NZ again. Anybody know any more?

[pyrocam]

Then we're all doomed.......!
DOOOOOOOOOOMED

[parsley]

You've got to worry if you're sitting in the shuttle waiting to come home and the dispatches arriving from Control are of this quality.
You'd be making sure that you clarified everything in the flight plan.

I hope that the bloke on the space walk the other day wasn't misled by poor spelling and ended up removing the motor on the shuttle not the mortar.
Reminds me of that great quote about the shuttle from Armageddon (Bruce saves the world again):
Rockhound: You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?

[Mooch]

IN The Harold this morning, there was an article from Reuters about the Shuttle returning today. It included a pretty diagram (credited to NASA) summarising the return. Nice. However, if the article is indicative of the general standard of quality assurance NASA has, then it's no wonder they're having problems.
The text accompanying the pictures comprised less than 100 words, including the following gems:
preperation
postition
motar
speed breaks (X2)
manuvering

I guess this is why some people make excellent techo's and others journalists.
You'd think that Nasa's corprate comms would have sorted this before releasing.

[Pixie]

Are you sure it wasn't written by anyone from this website? :devil2:

[Pixie]

Reminds me of that great quote about the shuttle from Armageddon (Bruce saves the world again):
Rockhound: You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?
That's the movie where they go from the launch pad to the comet (that's far enough away to make it worth while to try and alter it's course) in 15 minutes :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Wolf]

That's the movie where they go from the launch pad to the comet (that's far enough away to make it worth while to try and alter it's course) in 15 minutes :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
And the one to which was alluded by Terry Pratchett in Science of the Discworld when he was talking about a comet strike and said "It would take more than Bruce Willis flying the shuttle like it were the Millenium Falcon to stop it..."

[vifferman]

Reminds me of that great quote about the shuttle from Armageddon (Bruce saves the world again):
Rockhound: You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?
Must've been a New! Improved!! model then. The current shuttle has 300,000 moving parts (c.f. only 30 moving parts on SpaceShipOne!)
Oh yeah - it also has 2.5 tonnes of garbage from the ISS on board. :rofl: Much humour in our household last night when I read that in the paper, while we were watching the shuttle on some obscure UHF channel. It's a freakin high-tech garbage truck !!
Wonder if they'll open the hatches and strew garbage all over Russia or the Pacific to lighten the load...

[Paul in NZ]

The joy stick on the original shuttle was operated by 2 Commodore 64 computers or some such... Apparently the valves cost too much!

Anyway.... Semi joking aside

One of the great joys of my life is the AIGOR list. Mr H is freakin' funny and when asked about his solution to the tile problem he answered....

-----------------

> tell us H, how do you deal with flaky insulation tiles?

With my patented friction-free paint. I'm not talking low friction, I mean friction-FREE. It's a very versatile product. I developed it initially for the Moto Guzzi - paint it on the metal-to-metal surfaces inside the engine. No need for bearings any more. No need for oil. The end of all lubrication. Kiss grease goodbye.

Of course, it has other applications as well. Used on the hulls of boats and ships, they'll never need dry-docks again, because even barnacles can't stick to it.

And applied to the space shuttle, there's no need for heat-resistant tiles. In fact, you could build the shuttle from friction free-painted balsa wood.

I need a few dollars to develop the product, though. I can't get it to stick to the paintbrush.

[MadDuck]

Just a query on etiquette:

If you're looking up at the sky tonight and see the shuttle burning up on reentry, would it be "bad form" to make a wish on it?

Was bored and flicked the TV to CNN to see if they had landed. They hadnt so went through the channels as ya do and bugger me on "History" they showing the Challenger with the teacher on and they showed a MILLION times how it blew up. Camera on families faces.....

TV is such poor taste sometimes