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Artemis II Launch Day Updates

nasa.gov

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Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#631

Post by p-e-w »

idiotsecant wrote: post #611
KennyBlanken wrote: post #571

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> our ability to even execute something like this must be built again Why? Because "dreams"? "Reach for the stars"? You know what I remember from the shuttle launches as a kid? I remember my school not being able to afford textbooks but apparently we had enough to spend billions on putting people in space for no reason.

I guess probably we should stop spaceflight until we can go back in time and buy you a textbook. Spaceflight is cool . Its a awesome thing that people can exist outside our gravitational well. We don't need to solve every possible problem before we do anything cool.

Almost all of what makes spaceflight “cool” today is inherited excitement and nostalgia, most of it unearned by the current generation of space endeavors.

Apollo was a humanity-defining undertaking. Repeating the same 60 years later with outdated technology at outrageous costs for pork barrel spending, while far superior launch systems have been available for a decade, is about as far away from being “cool” as I can imagine.

The average ESA environmental observation satellite is a lot cooler (and a lot more important) than this launch.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#632

Post by lapcat »

nandomrumber wrote: post #614
lapcat wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Global rates of poverty are 83% lower than they were in 1969 when we landed on the moon. Obvious post hoc fallacy

It’s only a fallacy if the purported facts are fallacious. And in the case of lifting most of humanity out of poverty, two things are responsible: capitalism and technology. You can argue that China is a communist state, but it’s the allocation of capital to things that matter that has enable China to thrive.

> It’s only a fallacy if the purported facts are fallacious.

These don't appear to be the words of someone who understands what the post hoc fallacy is.

In any case, the subject is not "capitalism and technology" generally but rather manned Moon missions specifically.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#633

Post by [deleted] »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #592
MattGrommes wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's silly to say there's no innovation here. These aren't legos that you just snap together. I'm sure there are innovations up and down the whole thing, using the old technology they have easily available to them. No, it's not the most modern Rocket Lab or SpaceX project but they have immense drag on their process that those companies don't have and they still got the dang thing up and headed toward the moon.

That old technology wasn't remotely "easy" and the reason the top minds aren't going to NASA is because nobody wants to work on tech selected for maximum pork.

[deleted]

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#634

Post by hsuduebc2 »

dingaling wrote: post #482
GaryBluto wrote: post #450

It is very disconcerting to see so many completely disregarding incredible technological innovation because other problems exist, especially on HN. If we were not allowed to progress technology until everybody is 100% free of suffering, we'd never be able to create technological that may potentially lead to the alleviation of suffering. It all feels very crabs in a bucket - "I don't feel happy so nobody else should,…

There is no technological innovation in the Artemis stack. Three of the main engines are refurbished Shuttle engines. The fourth is a clone that cost more than the entire SpaceX Starship stack. The boosters are derived from the Shuttle SRBs. It's a late-60s technology rocket stack with a 2000s-era flight computer. It's such a travesty.

Well what are they suppose to do other than continue where they left it? As far I understand purpose of Artemis mission it is to build a pernamently occupied base on the moon not to build better and better rockets now. I mean, it's not the best solution but it is proven to work and they perceive it as enough for now. I think it's very similar to some critical systems still running code written in cobol sixty years ago.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#635

Post by treebeard901 »

randomNumber7 wrote: post #406
wat10000 wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it's tested. It failed. Then they're flying it anyway. Wonderful stuff.

And the next flight will use a different design. I wonder why?

Artemis II is scheduled for re-entry to Earth on April 10th. That is when the heat shield issue will be the most dangerous.

If it fails and the mission fails with loss of life while knowing it went ahead despite the IG report about the heat shield... It might be the end of NASA.

Hopefully it will return safely.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#636

Post by mulmen »

WaterRun wrote: post #601
dylan604 wrote: post #579

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While that might be true, it is on course to the moon now . Starship hasn't really done anything close. So while cheaper might be on the way, it doesn't exist now . When Starship can do now , we can talk about if the Shuttle Leftover System is ready to be retired

Starship is not designed for high-orbit deep-space missions; it is more like a cargo truck for low Earth orbit.

So you agree that SLS provides useful functionality and that Musk lied about Starship being a Mars bus.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#637

Post by p-e-w »

mulmen wrote: post #622
krapp wrote: post #612

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're redoing things we did before most people in this thread were even born, how would any of this "push the frontiers of human technology?"

Because we have gone backwards so any advancement requires some repetition.

Strange that SpaceX doesn’t seem to be suffering from that limitation. Could it be that the real problem is pork barrel spending and government wastefulness?

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#638

Post by adamgoodapp »

jgord wrote: post #208

Regardless of whether this particular mission is perfectly planned, this is precisely the kind of thing that will help humanity outgrow the dark age of war, inequality and climate mismanagement. It is a noble endeavor - science, engineering and peaceful exploration hold the keys to our survival and prosperity. It is also important psychologically to our survival - a reminder there is a bigger pie, that we can solve h…

On the contrary, Whitey on the Moon still rings true.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#639

Post by twoodfin »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #571
feyman_r wrote: post #548

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its true that innovation isn't clearly shown in this mission; we also haven't flown humans out that far in more than 50 years either and while we have memories of it, our ability to even execute something like this must be built again. I'd rather see us doing this and 'pick up from where we were last time', than giving up on it or just using a stack that's not currently set to do this. What Artemis is doing is not im…

> our ability to even execute something like this must be built again Why? Because "dreams"? "Reach for the stars"? You know what I remember from the shuttle launches as a kid? I remember my school not being able to afford textbooks but apparently we had enough to spend billions on putting people in space for no reason.

Have you looked at US per pupil K-12 spending growth & absolute comparisons vs. peer nations?

The problem with US public schools is not funding.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#640

Post by quink »

Gagarin1917 wrote: post #581
matthewmcg wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s interesting to compare to Apollo 8 (circumlunar Apollo mission). That mission culminated a year that saw escalation of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

The Apollo 8 book I read once ended with a letter to NASA thanking them and saying “You saved 1968.”

It was a telegram, not a letter. As also immortalised at the end of the 1968 episode of ‘From The Earth To The Moon’, attributed there to an apparently fictitious person.
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