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Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

bbc.com

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Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, so it's a live blog with updates and a dynamic headline.

It has "Live Updates" in big bold text as one of the first and most prominent lines on the page so... yes? Is that a problem? Publications have had live-updating articles for things ongoing for years. This seems both entirely reasonable and normal, and I'm not sure what the concern or issue is.

As per submission guidelines:

> Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize.

So, even if you use original title, once "Live Update" article changes, it might seem that submission did not use original title.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#122
post #77
post #64

Can't they just get things out of the module and paint it fresh? Maybe with some special paint, or with several layers of a paint? Obviously they can't, it looks like an obvious solution they couldn't have missed. But I wonder why it is impossible to do.

If you mean on the outside, paints that apply well in vacuum and microgravity probably need to be developed and tested first. If you mean on the inside, it'd be a lot of time and disruption to devote to maintenance on a station that's already having to spend an increasing amount of time on maintenance instead of science. The modules have a lot of stuff that has been wired between them over the years, all that would n…

> well in vacuum and microgravity probably

Wouldn't all paint works well in microgravity? If it didn't, I would think you wouldn't be able to apply it to your floor, walls, and ceiling, with the same paint.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are of course potential failures, but not quite as violent as oceans gate. There is 1 atm of pressure difference between the inside and outside of the ISS. At titanic depths the pressure difference between inside and outside of the submarine was approximately 400 atm. Thats why the ISS can have small leaks like this that are a problem but not catastrophic like they would be in a deep sea submarine.

The differences in engineers for space versus the ocean are fascinating. You'd think space stations and submarines would be interchangeable because they both deal with pressure differentials, right? Wrong. They'd fail in fascinatingly different ways within minutes or hours in the opposite environment

Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Dear Lord! That's over 150 atmospheres of pressure!

Fry: How many atmospheres can the ship withstand?

Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Well, it's a space ship, so I'd say anywhere between zero and one.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#124
> After multiple inspections and sealant applications, Nasa reported in January that pressure readings suggested a stable configuration had been reached - though there remained uncertainty about whether the leak had truly been sealed or whether air was simply escaping elsewhere.

I'm clearly not understanding what they're trying to say here. If _one_ leak was sealed, but the air was "escaping elsewhere", it would still be a leak, causing pressure readings to drop.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has "Live Updates" in big bold text as one of the first and most prominent lines on the page so... yes? Is that a problem? Publications have had live-updating articles for things ongoing for years. This seems both entirely reasonable and normal, and I'm not sure what the concern or issue is.

As per submission guidelines: > Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize. So, even if you use original title, once "Live Update" article changes, it might seem that submission did not use original title.

The point of the rule is to not editorialize, not to keep an always-updating title.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sort of like what happened on the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. Engineers on the ground were able to devise a makeshift fix to adapt the control module airscrubber filters to fit the lunar module so the astronauts could shelter in the LM for several days before getting back into the CM and coming home.

Yeah I was thinking about that, the big difference being that you are months out instead of hours/days, if a return to Earth is even possible.

I'm not sure distance matters. They're still stranded with virtually no possibility of rescue from the ground. Apollo 13 was extremely lucky that the hull wasn't breached, the spacecraft could still be controlled, that some very smart guys on the ground were able to devise the fix using bits of stuff known to be on board, the filter could actually be made, and, most of all, that it worked.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#127
post #92
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For every complex, difficult and hard problem, there is a simple, easy and wrong solution. Paint obviously is not the right tool for making seals air tight.

How about glue?

Duct Tape, the answer is always duct tape

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#128
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about glue?

Bubble gum? Like do they chew space bubble gum that they could then smoosh in the holes? In college, we'd use toothpaste for the holes left from nails in the walls we hung up our posters with.

Don’t try this if your toothpaste is the blue or green minty flavoured type. You’re welcome.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#129
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally your Mars transit vehicle hasn't been taking 90 minute heating and cooling cycles nonstop for 26 years.

Well one side will be facing the sun and the other will be facing the void, so there might be similar issues.

That's not necessarily true. Even spaceships in LEO will perform temperature-driven rolls so as to distribute heat and radiation. I have to assume that long-term ships like interplanetary transport will do the same.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#130
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally your Mars transit vehicle hasn't been taking 90 minute heating and cooling cycles nonstop for 26 years.

Well one side will be facing the sun and the other will be facing the void, so there might be similar issues.

There'a maneuver called a "BBQ roll" where you basically set the craft to doing a barrel roll in order to prevent any one side from overheating. I image that could help some.
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