Another spacewalk required: potential "grave damage" needs repair

[Bluebear]

With a gentle tug of his gloved right hand, Discovery astronaut Stephen Robinson removed two worrisome pieces of filler material from the shuttle's belly Wednesday in an unprecedented space repair job that drew a big sigh of relief from NASA. But he may have to go out again to fix yet another trouble spot.

Robinson was barely back inside the shuttle and out of his spacesuit when Mission Control informed the crew there was a chance that a fourth spacewalk might be needed Friday to deal with a torn thermal blanket below a cockpit window.

The concern is that a 20-inch section of the blanket could rip away during re-entry, whip backward and slam into the shuttle, perhaps causing grave damage. Engineers expect to know by Thursday evening whether the danger is real and whether any blanket trimming is required.

There was no immediate response from the exhausted but exhilarated astronaut.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050803/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle_10&printer=1

[wryter2000]

1. When are they going to ditch those death buckets?

I wouldn't fly in an airplane that old.

"Unmanned" probes give us the most useful scientific information, cost much less, and don't kill people (unless they land on someone on Mars). The space shuttle is a PR exercise. It should be dumped.

[TwilightZone]

3. If you fly at all, you probably fly in planes much, much older.

You'd be surprised. Many major airlines are still flying planes that are 10, 15, 20 or more years old.

[wryter2000]

7. I could be wrong

But I think those shuttles are over 20 years old.

looks as if the Enterprise was first tested in 1977 So, it's almost 30 years old.

[hobbit709]

8. Many planes are older than that

There's still DC-3s flying here and there in the world. Hell the Air Forces B-52s are older than anybody in them. And unmanned probes to who knows where are not the same as building a space station, assembling a moon expedition or anything like that.

[wryter2000]

11. Space station ain't gonna happen

Humans won't get any further than Mars because of the problem of distance and time. Robotic flights don't go to just any old place. The missions are planned by scientists with an eye toward real scientific questions, not junior high school science projects.

[Xithras]

17. Science will fix the time problem.

Cryo is being worked on right now, and there was a big deal made last year about the 7 big problems we have to solve before we become effectively immortal...and solutions were predicted for each in 20-50 years.

Once the problem of people getting old and dying on long missions is solved, we'll move out into space in a big way. I personally wouldn't mind spending 200 years on a spacecraft if I knew that I'd get to spend the next 500 exploring a whole new planet.

Trips to the outer planets will become routine.

[libnnc]

2. Okay now this is getting ridiculous...

To paraphrase Ed Harris in "Apollo 13":

"Is there anything on this space craft that works?"

[TrogL]

10. The Canadarm

Go figure

[IntravenousDemilo]

20. Yes, three cheers for the Canadarm! nm

[Kraklen]

4. I wonder what they're not telling us.

Obviously there's something.

[SmokingJacket]

5. So they're spending valuable time repairing damage

done just by getting up there?

What a freaking waste of resources. It is absolutely unforgivable that they didn't fix this problem -- they had two years. And it's not like we haven't been going into space for almost 40!!!

[tridim]

6. Yep, and now that precident has been set

Every mission's prime objective will be spacecraft repair, we'll never get anything else done. The old shuttle design is deader than dead.

[MikeNY]

9. Cost of constant underfunding

There is no clear direction for NASA, if you remember Bush set out some crazy agenda to build a base on the Moon and use it to build a colony on Mars... this was all televised on the national news medai some time ago. Is this guy still smoking crack? They're using technology thats a quarter of a century old and they have to deal with constant budget cuts.

Unfortunately the equipment seems to be valued more than the lives of the astronauts up there right now. It's clear to me, at least, that they are in a grave situation where there lives are going to be directly at risk upon re-entry. NASA should launch another shuttle and rescue these guys... but it all comes down to the almighty dollar in my opinion.

Now we have to hope and prey that they come back down safely as the media follows the official party line and plays down the risk.

[wryter2000]

12. Welcome to DU

:hi:

You're so right, but if they sent up another shuttle, that one would be in danger, too. The whole thing either needs new shuttles or it should be scrapped.

[rzemanfl]

13. Are you sure this isn't a combination dog and pony show and

CYA excercise? Sure draws the media's attention, such as it is.

[countingbluecars]

14. That did cross my mind-

Perhaps the thinking being that sensationalizing the spacewalk exercises would get the public interested in space travel again. But then I thought of the tradegy of the last shuttle mission and just how serious these problems really might be.

[rzemanfl]

16. Not to trivialize the problems, but I suspect a good number of

shuttle missions had greater damage before reentry. I think after the Columbia disaster they are being really careful and * is egging them on so as to distract from his numerous problems.

[fujiyama]

19. You're probably correct

This seems to be an inherant problem with the shuttle in general. The problem is only now becoming better known after the Columbia disaster. The tile design isn't working well in any real way.

I think this pretty much spells an even earlier end than planned for the shuttle program (atleast hopefully it does). It's time to scrap it and revamp the design. It may actually be worthwhile to look back at older, proven designs.

The actual scientific research done on the shuttle isn't nearly as useful as what has been gained from the various probes sent to mars and the Hubble telescope. This isn't to say I don't support manned space flght (I would love to go myself someday), and I understand risk is inevitable when travelling so fast and so far. But when the crews are simply spending the little time they have up their on maintanence and repairs, you know it's really not proving to be productive in any sense.

[Swamp Rat]

15. High grade meth

:D

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[elehhhhna]

18. Do not worry! If there was danger, GW would be on duty at the WH.

new mantra.

[soothsayer]

21. "Great job out there on that dangerous spacewalk.Oh, by the way,

could you go back out again? Found something BIGGER."