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Space Stations: Past, Present, And Future


octave

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Well that's incredible. Before watching that, I had no idea what a hop test was or what to expect. Octave, I can understand your oft stated view that there's never been a better time to live on this planet. Just think what our kids and grandkids will get to see.

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That thing's about as aerodynamic as a house brick! Surely they don't plan to take it to supersonic speeds??

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Did they sack all the aerodynamics engineers, so they couldΒ saveΒ enough money on the slipperiness, to enable them to engineerΒ it to be re-useable?

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You have to admit, the earlier NASA rocket ships were beautiful, withΒ their aerodynamic shapes.

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Remember how the early artists imagined and drew rocketships of the 20th and 21st century in the 19th and 20th centuries? They all drew fabulous-shaped designs, like the Raygun Gothic Rocketship!

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https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/features/2010/yuris_night_art.html

Edited by onetrack
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37 minutes ago, onetrack said:

That thing's about as aerodynamic as a house brick! Surely they don't plan to take it to supersonic speeds??

Turn the clock back and people were saying that about the F-4 Phantom, or the Flying Brick as they called it. Pilots used to say that it was proof you could make a brick fly if you have enough thrust.

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1 hour ago, onetrack said:

That thing's about as aerodynamic as a house brick! Surely they don't plan to take it to supersonic speeds??

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Did they sack all the aerodynamics engineers, so they couldΒ saveΒ enough money on the slipperiness, to enable them to engineerΒ it to be re-useable?

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You have to admit, the earlier NASA rocket ships were beautiful, withΒ their aerodynamic shapes.

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Remember how the early artists imagined and drew rocketships of the 20th and 21st century in the 19th and 20th centuries? They all drew fabulous-shaped designs, like the Raygun Gothic Rocketship!

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https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/features/2010/yuris_night_art.html

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No that is minus the nose cone. It is just a test.Β 

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Space Mission antiques returning home!? I'm amazed some rich American hasn't initiated and funded a huge programme to go and capture the errant antique rocket booster, and return it intact to Earth - where it canΒ be displayed as a outstanding exhibit of American superiority in technology!

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There are reports in the Russian press that proposed new sanctions by the U.S. will affect the Roscosmos space agency. Hopefully it's just media dog whistling that will come to nothing. NASA and the Russian space agency have always been immune from politics in their co-operation and it would be a shame to see it end. It's very hard to see it happening, particularly now that intelligent life is about to return to the White House. There are too many arguments against it. If the Spacex programme gets grounded, the Americans will have to rely on the Soyuz again to get to the ISS. If the Russians counter sanction, NASA will eventually run out of Russian RD-180 engines and the Atlas 5 can't fly. Also a big slab of U.S. satellites rely on Russian geo-positioning thrusters, and the ISS can't operate without the Russian propulsion and life supportΒ  sections. The list goes on of NASA reliance on Roscosmos, so I would think any talk of sanctions is just media hype.

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There's ongoing speculation as to the life span of the ISS. They seem to be hoping it will go another 10 years , to 2030. Vladimir Solovyov, the first deputy designer general for RSC Energia, the company that operates the Russian section, has expressed some opinions on it. He says that Russia has obligations to participate until 2025 and it might not be viable after that due to ageing and deterioration of the station. Meanwhile, the head of space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said that it was too early to decommission the ISS but that some modules might have to be replaced.Β Rogozin has spoken of the future use of the ISS for the development of space tourism and the participation of private space companies.

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China is building a station which the European Space Agency has expressed interest in using. Russia is also planning a small station to be operating post 2024. Plans are for a crew of two to four people, but at this stage it's not known whether it will be visited or inhabited, national or international. Whether the Americans build one of their own is yet to be seen.

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China's Chang'e-5 lunar sample mission is going well. The cargo vessel successfully docked with the orbiter yesterday, ready for the trip home. It was China’s first rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit, and the sample vessel's liftoff from the landing craft was the first lift-off of a Chinese spacecraft from an extraterrestrial body. The attached cg graphic depicts the sample capsule blasting off from the landing craft.

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