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Orion Flight Test Live Launch

nasa.gov

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Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#81

Post by organsnyder »

Arjuna wrote: post #40

This is awesome . Two thoughts spring to mind: 1. This is the equivalent of the Apollo 4 mission in that it also flew without a crew, and was used to prove, validate and verify that Saturn V and associated systems were fully mission-capable. 2. Events like this represent our future. Events like this are the catalysts for our future generation. The children around the world (perhaps one or more of your own) that are v…

I sat and watched the countdown (the video cut out at T-00:15) with my 3.5-year-old son this morning. He was extremely excited, to the point that he was able to sit still for a half-hour just listening to the announcements of various system checks. Even without being able to watch the actual launch live (we watched a taped version a few minutes later), he still seemed to be catching quite a bit of excitement, and asked a myriad of questions ("How does the rocket return to earth?" "What's that flame?").

When I was in grade-school in the early-mid 90's, I brought a news clipping of a Shuttle launch in for a "current events" classroom segment. Many of my classmates responded with disinterest: "Why do you care? There are Shuttle launches all the time." We were young enough not to remember Challenger, so space-flight seemed routine and boring. As tragic and disappointing as the Columbia disaster and end of the Shuttle program were, I think they actually reminded us not to take manned spaceflight for granted.

I work with an astronomer and physicist with a PhD from MIT. She was actually less excited about today's launch than I expected, mainly because she's more interested in the science being done by robotic missions. I'm sure she's right that they're much more cost-effective and able to deliver almost as many results, but I'd place a small wager that manned spaceflight was at least partially responsible for her interests and career path.

Also, I realized this morning (while looking at diagrams comparing the sizes of various launch configurations) that just seeing a picture of a Space Shuttle with its rockets still makes me a bit emotional. I can't say for sure what effect it had on me growing up, but I'm sure that it played a part in my development as a civic- and tech-minded individual.

Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#82

Post by dredmorbius »

zipwitch wrote: post #66
melling wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, and 2 years after Apollo 4 we landed on the moon. We did a few missions and haven't been back to the moon in 40 years. A Mars mission is 20 years out. You'll be an "old man" by then. It'll take another decade or two to build a permanent Mars base. What we really need is a lot less enthusiasm and a better plan.

A Manned Mars Mission has been 20 years out for 40 years, just like fusion power.

A manned Mars mission is within the grasp of existing technology (and has been for 40 years).

Fusion power isn't.

Mind that I'm not arguing for or against a manned mission to Mars. I don't think it would prove any tremendous benefits, though it would be most decidedly cool. I also believe that permanent or long-term Mars settlements are well beyond present technical capabilities.

But the difference here is political will and financing. Not underlying technical viability.

Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#84

Post by dredmorbius »

raverbashing wrote: post #36
RyanMcGreal wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's similar in Canada. The country formally converted from imperial to metric between 1970 and 1983 for temperature measurements, road signs and speed limits, consumer goods packaging (volume and weight), and so on. However, due to our physical and cultural proximity to the US, many consumer goods are sold in "soft-metric" quantities: 454 grams of butter, 273 milliletres of pop and so on. Food recipes are still most…

And rental places being advertised by sq.ft. (or pi.ca. in French)

What is pi.ca. ?

Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#85

Post by jessaustin »

Arjuna wrote: post #78
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is the equivalent of the Apollo 4 mission I'm not sure if that's the best comparision. I'm something of a cheerleader for the SLS program, but this is just a dumb capsule test. This isn't the rocket we're going to be using. That rocket isn't even built yet. Historically, rockets are hard and capsules are easy. Assuming that it stays on schedule, which is a big assumption, we won't have a test flight for the SLS…

Good points. "We should have had a SaturnV-level replacement the day the Shuttle was retired." I think, in part, the historical reason involves the following [1]: The reality is that we need something other than the threat to national security to polarize us towards a common goal. That's what happened during the Space Race. The Soviets launched Sputnik 1, and that lit the fuse on a world-altering journey. In the US,…

...it often feels like there is an under-current feeling of, "Where are we heading, as a nation?"

Thank goodness, if this is actually the case. It might be heresy to "leadership" aficionados, but "national" goals are usually windfalls for a few people, fairly benign to most of the elites, and disastrous for the rest of us. Less national direction, please!

Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#86

Post by jessaustin »

coreyoconnor wrote: post #80
baldfat wrote: post #24

11 parachutes in 3 stages? Now that is some serious engineering. http://news.discovery.com/space/private-spaceflight/final-co... This looks so complex BUT it is coming in so fast (20,000 MPH) into the atmosphere BUT there are so many points for failure. Surprised there wasn't a simpler and safer solution.

IIRC Space X is going with small rockets to slow decent instead of parachutes. Or in addition to parachutes? I wonder if that would be applicable for the required dV. Or if that is even safer.

The goal is an eventual "soft landing" on a rocket, which isn't feasible with parachutes. Such a rocket could be landed in a specific location, refilled with fuel, and be available for relaunch fairly quickly.

Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#88

Post by seanflyon »

coreyoconnor wrote: post #80
baldfat wrote: post #24

11 parachutes in 3 stages? Now that is some serious engineering. http://news.discovery.com/space/private-spaceflight/final-co... This looks so complex BUT it is coming in so fast (20,000 MPH) into the atmosphere BUT there are so many points for failure. Surprised there wasn't a simpler and safer solution.

IIRC Space X is going with small rockets to slow decent instead of parachutes. Or in addition to parachutes? I wonder if that would be applicable for the required dV. Or if that is even safer.

"Dragon V2 will initially conclude missions under her parachutes, prior to a later switch to a fully propulsive landing."

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/08/dragon-v2-rely-parach...

Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#89

Post by anigbrowl »

netcan wrote: post #26
EliRivers wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes it easier for every country in the entire world, barring the US. Liberia and Myanmar switched over.

In Ireland we use a mix. Miles for casual talk, KMs for speeding tickets. Pounds when cooking, stones for people & kgs for everything else. Inches in carpentry and horsepower for cars. In a lot of places metric is a lingua franca kind of like latin. It's used in international, formal or academic settings (like a space launch) but the average farmer speaks a local dialect more natively.

Yeah, I like metric but I still prefer my beer measured in pints. The difference is that while people have preferences like this, everyone knows metric is The Standard.

There's only one long stretch of road in the US with metric signage, and even that's controversial: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2014/10/04...

Hilariously, people in the comments on that article demand miles because they're 'English.' I sometimes think Americans secretly miss being ruled from London.

Re: Orion Flight Test Live Launch

#90

Post by seigo »

Arjuna wrote: post #78
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is the equivalent of the Apollo 4 mission I'm not sure if that's the best comparision. I'm something of a cheerleader for the SLS program, but this is just a dumb capsule test. This isn't the rocket we're going to be using. That rocket isn't even built yet. Historically, rockets are hard and capsules are easy. Assuming that it stays on schedule, which is a big assumption, we won't have a test flight for the SLS…

Good points. "We should have had a SaturnV-level replacement the day the Shuttle was retired." I think, in part, the historical reason involves the following [1]: The reality is that we need something other than the threat to national security to polarize us towards a common goal. That's what happened during the Space Race. The Soviets launched Sputnik 1, and that lit the fuse on a world-altering journey. In the US,…

I wonder how much would a Mars mission project raise from something like Kickstarter.
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