The International Space Station turns 15 years old!
41 replies, posted
I thought this blew up in MW2 :c
[QUOTE=pentium;42931949]NASA has its head too far up its ass to ever leave shit in orbit. They won't even let it fling off into space in fear of contaminating unexplored space. (because with your budget cuts you totally have that on your agenda)[/QUOTE]
NASA is undeniably the most successful space program any country has launched. If they say they don't want to do something, they have their reasons which are probably better than someone posting on an internet forum. :v:
Damn, hard to believe it's been around since only 1998.
[QUOTE=evilweazel;42932002]NASA is undeniably the most successful space program any country has launched. If they say they don't want to do something, they have their reasons which are probably better than someone posting on an internet forum. :v:[/QUOTE]
They also have a fetish for controlling what we can put in space. They won't let Canada build a launch center because we would interfere with their operations and they cry to congress when we ignore their orders because, you know, we're another country.
I remember being outraged a year or two ago when NASA made mention of plans to deorbit the station sometime in the next few years, and then I realized that parts of it have been up there for more than a decade. To put this in perspective, everything from the launch of Sputnik to the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon could fit within the timeframe that this single spacecraft has been in orbit.
Now they're saying that the next stations will likely be built independently rather than being one international effort. It's probably a sad sign of the times; everyone was so optimistic after the end of the Cold War and now that spirit is sort of fading away.
It's sad to stop using it, but i'd imagine that if there is one thing you don't want to keep using after it's expiring date it's the thing keeping your blood from boiling
[QUOTE=pentium;42932142]They also have a fetish for controlling what we can put in space. They won't let Canada build a launch center because we would interfere with their operations and they cry to congress when we ignore their orders because, you know, we're another country.[/QUOTE]
NASA can't force another country to do anything. If Canada has made some sort of deal with them then that's on Canada as well, and I'm sure something is given in return.
Canada does have several launch facilities by the way, but they are useless for equatorial or low inclination orbits due to their high latitude.
[QUOTE=pentium;42931949]NASA has its head too far up its ass to ever leave shit in orbit. They won't even let it fling off into space in fear of contaminating unexplored space. (because with your budget cuts you totally have that on your agenda)[/QUOTE]
there's enough useless shit floating around in orbit already, do we really need more?
[QUOTE=thelurker1234;42935616]there's enough useless shit floating around in orbit already, do we really need more?[/QUOTE]
Do you really not understand just how much is already in space and in what volumes? It isn't massive structures like the ISS that clutter the MASSIVE expanse of even local space. It's micro debris and the like that do.
[QUOTE=Mbbird;42937305]Do you really not understand just how much is already in space and in what volumes? It isn't massive structures like the ISS that clutter the MASSIVE expanse of even local space. It's micro debris and the like that do.[/QUOTE]
Derelict satellites are becoming an issue as well, resulting in stuff like: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision[/url]
[QUOTE=Falubii;42924409]It kind of sucks being raised on imperial. I'm trying to get a feel for mass in kilos and velocities in kph or m/s, but I just can't do it. If I want to really picture something I have to convert it.[/QUOTE]
Don't worry man, I was raised with metric and I still have trouble imagining a kilo or a meter... It's pretty terrible judgement on my end and nobody will care if you can't do it perfectly.
Once you start doing some calculationg in metrics I'm sure you'll get a feel for it.
[editline]22nd November 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=Mbbird;42929862]Well that wouldn't be the logic. Pushing it into a significantly higher orbit would be somewhat difficult and should another station replace it, and it go unused, it wouldn't make much sense to want to restock it repeatedly to hold its altitude.[/QUOTE]
Once it's far away enough from the athmosphere (say, 10x it's current altitude) you won't get any significant drag anymore.
[QUOTE=DrDevil;42943547]Don't worry man, I was raised with metric and I still have trouble imagining a kilo or a meter... It's pretty terrible judgement on my end and nobody will care if you can't do it perfectly.
Once you start doing some calculationg in metrics I'm sure you'll get a feel for it.
[editline]22nd November 2013[/editline]
Once it's far away enough from the athmosphere (say, 10x it's current altitude) you won't get any significant drag anymore.[/QUOTE]
Oh I know. I mean that theyre two different solutions to the same problem.
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