When Will Nasa Learn??!!

[Dr Mordrid]

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=895862006

Shuttle launch to go ahead despite risk of 'catastrophe'

JACQUI GODDARD AT CAPE CANAVERAL

NASA managers have rejected last-ditch pleas from their top safety officer and chief engineer to scrap next month's shuttle launch, saying that they will press ahead despite potentially catastrophic risks.

The head of the US space agency, Dr Michael Griffin, overruled warnings that there was a "relatively high" chance the shuttle's external fuel tank could shed some of its solid foam coating when it launches on 1 July, carrying seven crew including Briton Piers Sellers, an Edinburgh University graduate.
>
During a weekend meeting at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Dr Griffin gave the final nod for next month's mission, despite what he called an "intensive and spirited exchange" with senior colleagues who recommended a "no-go". "We have elected to take the risk," he said.
>
Dr Griffin said that if the shuttle's thermal tiles are damaged by debris during launch, the vehicle would still make it safely into space. The danger, he said, would come during re-entry.

The astronauts could make minor repairs before coming down or take refuge in the International Space Station and await a rescue mission by a second shuttle, Atlantis.

They need to shut that program down NOW (actually years ago) and start a crash program on the heavy lifter and CEV.....even if it takes buying some Soyuz's from Russia in the short term.

F***ing morons

Dr. Mordrid

[az]

Do you think this might have anything to do with the pride of vertain people very high up the command chain?

[ZokesPro]

So they can safely send them in space, but they have to repair the damned thinn so they can return, or, wait until someone comes and rescues them??? This IS NASA right?

[degrub]

Well, i like the rescue plan. We can get rid of both shuttles in a couple months Problem is all the drag on the space station will require more fuel, etc. ANd then there is the de-orbit problem...... actually 1/50 odds aren't too bad.. Better than you get with russian roulette

[Jessterw]

That's exactly the problem, it is NASA. Well, the decision making side of it, which has seen fit to drive the entire space program into the ground by decades of incompetence.

F* morons is right. If I was an astronaut I would be having serious thoughts about telling them to take the flight, since they're so willing to "take the risk".

[Dr Mordrid]

My priorities;

1. heavy lifter, whose development would keep most of the shittle's launcher team intact and be able to put into LEO 4x the mass the shittle can lift.

2. the CEV and its SRB based launcher.

3. some kind of high impulse electric drive, be it VASIMR or whatever, and the compact (?PBMR?) reactor to power it. If a standard module were designed that allowed clustering there would be huge long term benefits.

Dr. Mordrid

[degrub]

Sure could free up $$$ for un-manned flight !

[rylan]

Well heres the problem... they're never going to eliminate the chance of debris from the main fuel tank due to the basic design of it. Halting any more launches leaves them without any heaving lift or personel transport to the space station (besides the russian transport, which only supports a skeleton crew on the station) or to any other objects in earth orbit should somthing need repair.
I'm not saying its a good idea to launch, however there isn't another option in the near future, besides abandoning the ISS and letting it burn up.

[Dr Mordrid]

Halting any more launches leaves them without any heaving lift or personel transport to the space station (besides the russian transport, which only supports a skeleton crew on the station) or to any other objects in earth orbit should somthing need repair.

We have already contracted to buy Soyuz rides at a fixed price through 2011 if necessary, so getting small crews up/down isn't an issue. It's worked since Columbia, soooo....

The orbital repair business is DEAD....get used to it.

The shittle can lift ~25 tons in its bay to Low Earth Orbit. The Delta IV Heavy can put ~28 tons into LEO, so shittle sized payloads shouldn't be a problem for it until the heavy lifter is available. Even the runt of the litter Delta IV Medium can put 9 tons in LEO.

Delta family;

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Delta_rocket_evolution.png

IF NASA had started work on these interim solutions right after the Columbia report plus a crash program on a shittle derived heavy lifter they'd be a helluva lot better off now.

Dr. Mordrid

[VJ]

Idiots at NASA...
It gives a weird twist to the expression: "it's (not) rocketscience".


Jörg

[rylan]

Yeah, the Soyuz is working at getting small crews up/down to the ISS, however due to the limited payload capacity and lifesupport room, it means the space station is left with only a minimal crew that is basically only there to keep the station from falling apart... even if that much.

Yes they should've started work on other heavy lifters and transports, but they didn't... and its going to be years before anything else is ready.

[Dr Mordrid]

The way I see it there are 2 choices;

1. go into 'maintenance mode' using Soyuz's, using the shittle budget to accelerate development on the new systems. Presented properly the public will accept this as a wise decision and support it. Not a great option, but do-able and a better use of scarce resources.

2. take the risk of a shittle launch. If we lose another, or we have to risk another ship/crew mounting a rescue mission, you risk losing public and political support for the whole manned program.

Heaven knows the ramifications of having two damaged shittles parked at the ISS and no way to get 'em down

I'll take #1 thank you.

Dr. Mordrid

[Technoid]

well theres another option, going back to the non enviromentally friendly insulation and tell the tree huggers that they can go **** a tree

[Dr Mordrid]

But chunks of that fell off too. The geniuses at NASA just didn't think 2 kg hitting the structure at 500+ mph was a big deal

Side-saddle launching was a bad idea from day one and nothing will change that. So was the notion of a manned cargo launcher, aka 'space truck'. Two jobs needs two tools as multi-function tools end up doing neither well.

Dr. Mordrid

[rylan]

I forgot about the non enviro friendly insulation. Yes chunks of that fell off also, however it was much much smaller pieces.