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Crew-9 Returns to Earth

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Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#251

Post by croes »

bheadmaster wrote: post #128
pavlov wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Berger is an excellent journalist. He’s very knowledgeable about space topics, has good sources, and has been extremely fair to Musk in the past. When he says it’s a “throne of lies”, a line has been crossed.

I wasn't very convinced by his arguments - the main one being: Senior NASA officials earlier this month confirmed, publicly and on the record, that the decision was made by the space agency in the best interests of the International Space Station Program. Not for political reasons. To be a little snarky here - so Senior NASA officials: honest, Musk: liar? If, hypothetically, NASA was pressured for political reasons,…

Didn’t know that the accused must prove their innocence?

Where did Musk show his proof it was political?

Given how often Musk and Trump tell BS, bend the truth and even lie I tend to believe NASA officials

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#252

Post by RandomBacon »

tw1984 wrote: post #129

can they sue NASA for compensation?

Anyone can file a lawsuit against anyone for any reason, doesn't mean they will win or it won't be summarily dismissed. I doubt the Astronauts have enough money to fund such a lawsuit while becoming some of the most hated people in America.

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#253

Post by amelius »

double051 wrote: post #220
madeofpalk wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Elon really had that much to do with this.

Besides making any of this possible?

While running his other two companies (Tesla, X), being in charge of DOGE, and making political statements on stages everywhere, AND taking care of his 14 children ... I don't think he was actually involved in this. Or maybe he was there in the mission control room, physically, just for kicks, and annoying the hell out of the engineers. Now that I find somewhat likely.

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#254

Post by chrisweekly »

weregiraffe wrote: post #217
yard2010 wrote: post #139

> Kate Tice, an engineer from SpaceX on the webcast, noted that touchdown was imminent. "We're going to stand by for splashdown located in the Gulf of America," she said. Ah, yes. The Gulf of America. This is why we can't have nice things. Haha you got to love the timeline we're living at.

Why, a gulf is not a nice thing?

> "The name of the Gulf of Mexico became a subject of dispute in 2025, when U.S. president Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14172, directing the U.S. interior secretary to change its name to the "Gulf of America" within the U.S. federal government. As of February 2025, the majority of Americans oppose the change.[1] The gulf has been known as the Gulf of Mexico since the 1550s,[2] having derived its name from Mexica, the Nahuatl term for the Aztecs.[3]"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico%E2%80%93Ameri...

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#255

Post by TomK32 »

There are much worse places to wait for a flight home. How Trump and Musk acted is just ridiculous and maybe shows that the are missing the bigger picture in complex situations or lack people close to them whole tell them that an action might be a useless publicity stunt or worse have negative impacts further down the road.

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#256

Post by troupo »

bheadmaster wrote: post #128
pavlov wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Berger is an excellent journalist. He’s very knowledgeable about space topics, has good sources, and has been extremely fair to Musk in the past. When he says it’s a “throne of lies”, a line has been crossed.

I wasn't very convinced by his arguments - the main one being: Senior NASA officials earlier this month confirmed, publicly and on the record, that the decision was made by the space agency in the best interests of the International Space Station Program. Not for political reasons. To be a little snarky here - so Senior NASA officials: honest, Musk: liar? If, hypothetically, NASA was pressured for political reasons,…

> To be a little snarky here - so Senior NASA officials: honest, Musk: liar?

We know for a fact that Musk a serial liar with a very tenuous grasp of truth.

Can you say the same about the Senior NASA official?

Also, the burden of proof lies on Musk, not on NASA which literally has contingencies upon contingencies for such situations.

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#257

Post by gcanyon »

dotancohen wrote: post #72
gcanyon wrote: post #21

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, A tale of a fateful trip, That started from this tropic port Aboard a Boeing ship Two astronauts went up that day, They both were brave and true, The Starliner delivered them, To join ISS crew. ...for an eight day station tour. The testing on the Starliner, Was thoroughly performed. Although it probably was safe, The NASA team were warned. So the Starliner came home to Eart…

Nice job, but come clean. Was this AI generated?

For comparison,

"Write a set of alternative lyrics to the theme for Gilligan's Island based on the two astronauts that went up in the Boeing Starliner and were supposed to spend about 8 days in the ISS but ended up spending about 9 months. It's important to follow the meter and rhyme pattern."

Gemma 3:

Okay, here's a set of alternative lyrics to the Gilligan's Island theme song, tailored to the story of Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams' extended stay aboard the International Space Station due to issues with the Boeing Starliner. I've tried to maintain the original song's meter and rhyme scheme as closely as possible.

(Music: Same as the original Gilligan's Island theme)

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, Of two brave astronauts, set to sail— To the ISS, a mission planned, For eight short days, a helping hand.

(Chorus) Starliner launched, a hopeful flight, But problems arose, with all their might! Nine months they stayed, a cosmic spree, A longer journey than it should be!

The capsule docked, all seemed so fine, But glitches appeared, a worrying sign. Repairs were needed, delays took hold, A story of patience, bravely told.

(Chorus) Starliner launched, a hopeful flight, But problems arose, with all their might! Nine months they stayed, a cosmic spree, A longer journey than it should be!

They orbited Earth, a watchful crew, Experiments done, and tasks anew. While ground control worked, with skill and grace, To bring them safely back to base.

So listen close, and you will see, A space adventure, for you and me! A tale of resilience, strong and true, Wilmore and Williams, seeing it through!

Notes on Choices & Challenges:

Meter & Rhyme: The original song is very specific in its rhythm and rhyme. I've prioritized that above all else. This meant some compromises in the narrative detail. Narrative Focus: I focused on the core issue – the extended stay due to Starliner problems – and tried to convey a sense of the situation without getting bogged down in technical details. Tone: I aimed for the same lighthearted, slightly whimsical tone as the original. "Sail" vs. "Space": The original uses "sail," which is obviously nautical. I tried to make "flight" work as a parallel. Keeping it Concise: The original theme is very short. Fitting a complex story into that format is a challenge. I hope this captures the spirit of the situation while staying true to the iconic song! Let me know if you'd like any adjustments or further refinements.

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#258

Post by erupt7893 »

echoangle wrote: post #179
porphyra wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why didn't they do it for the health of the astronauts? What would make doing so "hacks"?

Why would you do it for the health? Their stays weren’t extremely long compared to other ISS expeditions.

Standard rotations are about 6 months - Butch and Suni were supposed to be up there for 8 days... Their families, their lives, and everything normal for way longer than planned. Health routines or not, that’s a brutal toll—mentally, emotionally, not just bones and muscles. Stop downplaying it like it’s no big deal

Re: Crew-9 Returns to Earth

#260

Post by acdha »

pie_flavor wrote: post #211
pveierland wrote: post #76

Eric Berger has a good summary on the narrative: https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/can-nasa-remain-nonpar...

Prior to Musk's shift to the right, Ars ran frequent Musk puff pieces; post shift, they run frequent Musk hit pieces. It's just as grating, and when every other news org is reporting it more measuredly you should be very cautious before calling their summary 'good'. For example, this article claims the political reasons are unspecified, but they were in fact discussed at length (I think Musk even mentioned them on a…

I think trying to fit things into a dichotomy of puff/hit pieces is actually obscuring the truth here. Eric Berger is a space flight enthusiast and so he covered SpaceX positively when they were doing good work there, but now that Musk seems to be interested only in playing political games rather than running his companies, there isn’t much positive to report: it’s not a hit piece, just the truth many SpaceX fans didn’t want to hear. It’s not a left/right thing (do you know how Boeing’s CEO votes?) but rather Musk having fully embraced the post-modern world of right-wing politics where there’s no such thing as truth which contradicts what the party wants to be true.
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