that kid that CNN interviewed...knows one word



and NCSU has 30 mice onboard lol
http://www.bme.ncsu.edu/index.php/news/467-biomedical-engineering-mouse-experiment-on-the-last-space-shuttle-flight

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 11:41 AM. Reason : ]

7/8/2011 11:41:07 AM

goosebumps

7/8/2011 11:42:49 AM

what do you think is next?

space planes?

7/8/2011 11:44:35 AM

7/8/2011 11:45:53 AM

Commercial manned space flight.

I hope they don't scrap the JWST. So much work has gone into it to throw it away now would be retarded.

7/8/2011 11:46:04 AM

http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=611768

7/8/2011 12:05:46 PM

watched from the roof of my office. Shuttle dissappeared behind clouds after about 15 seconds though.

goodbye to one of the few benefits of being a fl res

7/8/2011 5:51:49 PM

The new shuttle after it returned to earth last year. There's another up there now, will probably stay up for months.

[Edited on July 9, 2011 at 7:53 PM. Reason : .]

7/9/2011 7:50:46 PM

http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-awesome-images-that-will-make-you-mourn-space-shuttle/

7/14/2011 1:06:20 PM

I saw you posted that on FB and thought to myself, Hey! Someone just posted that on TWW as well!

7/14/2011 2:00:54 PM

no wikipedia page on those "thrust diamonds"

maybe google works

nevermind, looks like they're more commonly called "shock diamonds" or "mach diamonds/discs"

[Edited on July 15, 2011 at 11:00 AM. Reason : ]

7/15/2011 10:56:58 AM

http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html

7/17/2011 7:00:15 PM

Such a crappy design trade off. Soyuz is much lighter. The ISS is twice the weight as the space shuttle.

We paid a huge opportunity cost launching a cadillac into space when the job should have been done with a honda and a pickup truck, as appropriate.

How many worthwhile missions got cut because the shuttle took up a lot of the budget?

Ends of eras are always sad, but good riddance.

[Edited on July 17, 2011 at 8:55 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2011 8:52:34 PM

From what I understand, the Soyuz has a much smaller payload than the shuttle did, so therefore you need more soyuz missions to equal what 1 shuttle mission could do.

7/17/2011 9:08:24 PM

You've got the wrong idea. The soyuz delivers people (honda). Automated rockets and spacecraft deliver payloads (truck). This is how the russians send people and goods to the ISS.

Get rid of the weight of the shuttle, and you could launch 10 payloads using the same rocket. The shuttle is half the size as the ISS. The whole ISS could have been launched in a fraction of the launches it took with the space shuttle.

You may be able to find missions that only the shuttle could have done, but the vast majority of shuttle missions were not worth the opportunity cost. And for the same resources, we would have developed appropriate alternative technologies to do the unique missions, anyway.


Ha, looks like the russians are jacking up the price of their services now that we don't have and capability to launch people or supplies.

[Edited on July 17, 2011 at 9:59 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2011 9:49:14 PM

That's what Constellation was supposed to be... Ares I would have been the Honda Civic and Ares V the pickup truck. The Shuttle (and probably it's replacement) was a minivan.

7/18/2011 8:58:36 AM

Also, the Atlantis is bringing down a large module from the ISS on it's way back - that'd have been impossible if we only had the Soyuz

7/18/2011 10:00:21 AM

Quote :

"You may be able to find missions that only the shuttle could have done, but the vast majority of shuttle missions were not worth the opportunity cost. And for the same resources, we would have developed appropriate alternative technologies to do the unique missions, anyway. "

7/18/2011 8:27:14 PM

As much as I'm disappointed the shuttle program has come to an end, I think it will be good for space technology as a whole. The loss of the space shuttle will force us to come up with new plans and designs for space travel, and hopefully come up with something(s?) as alternatives that can hopefully exceed the shuttle in all aspects of performance and cost - assuming the funding is available.

Here's to a safe trip home!

7/18/2011 9:02:39 PM

lol we're having a party at work on Thursday for when the shuttle lands that is being catered by Bojangles. Good news: Free sausage biscuits, country ham biscuits, Cajun chicken biscuits, blueberry glazed biscuits, cinnamon glazed biscuits, orange juice, and coffee. Bad news: the shuttle lands at 5am. I can't decide if I should go.

7/19/2011 9:22:32 AM

Can I go in your place?

7/19/2011 9:31:23 AM

^If you come all the way to Huntsville I will be happy to escort you onto the space flight center and get you free Bojangles.

7/19/2011 9:45:13 AM

oh man that would be so awesome

7/19/2011 11:59:33 AM

yo when is it? I'll be coming to Alabama soon

7/19/2011 12:35:15 PM

Quote :

"blueberry glazed biscuits"

make sure they are referred to by their proper name: bo'berry biscuits

7/19/2011 12:55:34 PM

^I am aware that is the proper name but I just copied and pasted from the email announcement. Unfortunately Huntsville only has two Bojangles so it isn't too popular here (lucky for me one of them just recently opened up and it is only a few miles from my house) so not too many people would know what a bo'berry biscuit is. I have brought a few fortunate enough people to the light (message_topic.aspx?topic=541978) and they are now avid fans of both biscuits and chicken from Bojangles but one man can only do so much.

^^The shuttle is scheduled for wheels down on Thursday morning at 4:58am CST. Any tdubbers that are in the area for some reason are welcome to come eat biscuits and watch the shuttle land with me on the enormous HD screen.

[Edited on July 19, 2011 at 1:25 PM. Reason : ]

7/19/2011 1:24:27 PM

we commend your efforts to spread the word of the Bo

four-PEACE supreme dinner BE WITH YOU

and with you

7/19/2011 2:04:01 PM

WHO'S GONNA BE UP?!

7/21/2011 12:30:10 AM

MEEEE. maybe. Though I passed out while texting babes last night.

7/21/2011 1:34:01 AM

OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE OF VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT IS FINALLY OVER.

7/21/2011 12:16:32 PM

dont worry, the Russians have everything under control

8/24/2011 6:20:18 PM

the space program has wronged smc

8/24/2011 6:52:34 PM

might as well post this here

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

(Mars landing tonight)

8/5/2012 6:18:50 PM

there's some discussion on that in the Manned Space Flight thread already. just fyi

[Edited on August 5, 2012 at 6:22 PM. Reason : ]

8/5/2012 6:21:34 PM