Fri, 24 May 2013 16:40:15 -0700 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/ Lussumo Vanilla 1.1.4 & Feed Publisher http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=295996#Comment_295996 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=295996#Comment_295996 Fri, 27 May 2011 22:57:08 -0700 agentarsenic
When I was a kid of about four my mom was a soldier at an Air Force Base. She used to bring to her work sometimes so I could watch the military aircraft come and go. My mom said if I was lucky I'd get to see a space shuttle, which she probably told me so I wouldn't put up a fight about sitting around a boring motor pool office - because Ohio isn't space capitol of the world or anything. She bought some amazing posters featuring the crews of America's spaceflight history that hung on my wall for years. I never got tired of looking at them, it just seemed a given that this wonderful exploration and these amazing people would be going to the stars forever.

Anyway - I'm starting to feel down now that the cutoff time for American spaceflight is ticking down the last few seconds. What are your feelings/thoughts/memories on American spaceflight? ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296001#Comment_296001 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296001#Comment_296001 Fri, 27 May 2011 23:21:27 -0700 StefanJ
When the economy has recovered a bit, politicians will start making noise about the importance of beating the Chinese to Mars, thus increasing spending and getting the manned program back on the front burner. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296006#Comment_296006 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296006#Comment_296006 Sat, 28 May 2011 01:39:12 -0700 Morac http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296010#Comment_296010 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296010#Comment_296010 Sat, 28 May 2011 02:58:20 -0700 justinpickard British spaceplane:

]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296029#Comment_296029 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296029#Comment_296029 Sat, 28 May 2011 07:13:00 -0700 256
Right now, NASA has active space probes:
MESSENGER in orbit around Mercury
Cassini in orbit around Saturn
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter which is, yep, orbiting Mars
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, figure it out
WIND in orbit around the Sun
SOHO in orbit around the Sun
ACE in orbit around the Sun
STEREO A & B in orbit around the Sun
Three THEMIS probes around the sun, and two (renamed ARTEMIS) moved to lunar orbit
plus
New Horizons on the way to Pluto
Dawn on the way to the asteroid Vesta
and, of course, Voyager I & II, and Deep Impact are still out there, heading out of the solar system.

This doesn't include any of the Earth orbiting NASA satellites, of which there are a huge number.

But I don't blame people for not knowing or caring about these missions, because NASA do an absolutely shocking job of managing their public relations. The collective web presence of these missions is a horrendous mishmash of outdated, ugly, unconnected sites. There's also a real problem with audience - they seem to pitch to pre-highschool ("Mars activity sheets!"), or post-doctorate ("ftp raw data here"), and nothing in between.

This is something they really, really need to sort out.

Honestly, they could just employ one person, give them access to everything that's coming in from the entire probe fleet, and pick out a few of the prettier pictures to put them on a blog somewhere. Is there a fuckyeahNASA.tumblr.com yet?


Also, @justinpickard:

That is a penis. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296032#Comment_296032 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296032#Comment_296032 Sat, 28 May 2011 07:35:00 -0700 Slick http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296078#Comment_296078 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296078#Comment_296078 Sat, 28 May 2011 19:04:32 -0700 John Skylar
There's also the Lockheed Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, designed for so-called "deep space" missions (in this case "deep space" means "beyond the moon" or "to Mars"). Read about it here.

Or, let's consider the Dragon Capsule, which has been contracted for cargo delivery to the ISS.

Manned spaceflight from the US is in a transition period. It's not dead.

That doesn't mean it can't still die, and I'm sure there are people who will say either of these projects will be canceled, but nobody can predict the future. They're moving forward, and that's the plan. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296082#Comment_296082 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296082#Comment_296082 Sat, 28 May 2011 20:16:54 -0700 LokiZero http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296090#Comment_296090 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296090#Comment_296090 Sat, 28 May 2011 22:37:53 -0700 Fan What are your feelings/thoughts/memories on American spaceflight?

It's not about America: it's about people, and space. I'd be no less happy if it were the Chinese space program ... or (less likely) dogs. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296168#Comment_296168 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296168#Comment_296168 Sun, 29 May 2011 22:41:00 -0700 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296170#Comment_296170 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296170#Comment_296170 Sun, 29 May 2011 23:05:32 -0700 Jamie Heron Muhuahahahahahahaha...

Though to be perfectly honest it doesn't look all that exciting, and it hasn't been updated in over a year. :( ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296172#Comment_296172 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296172#Comment_296172 Mon, 30 May 2011 00:02:17 -0700 ScottBieser black cock and balls. Probably nothing.

I have long been a fan of manned space travel, and co-write a "hard sf" web-comic strip concerning same, but the more I learn about the challenges involved the more I start to think that before we can get very far from Earth orbit, humans themselves -- or at least, those who do the traveling, will have to change in fundamental physiological ways. The problems of bone and muscle degeneration in microgravity, the radiation hazards, the huge cost (in terms of mass) of necessary life-support systems, the lengthy travel times to get even as far as Mars, may mean that we need to develop a new sort of human -- homo coelus peregrinans? -- adapted to an environment of low gravity, high radiation, and requiring far lower amounts of oxygen and water than we do. Or at the extreme, to become machines -- human consciousness uploaded into an artificial brain controlling a metal body.

Unless, of course, we have some fairly enormous break-throughs in areas like propulsion, artificial gravity, chemical and elemental transmutation, and radiation shielding. None of us can know what the future will bring, but I doubt I'll see any of this in my lifetime, and probably not in the lifetime of most people here, either.

Just the same, it's still fun to dream about. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296233#Comment_296233 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296233#Comment_296233 Mon, 30 May 2011 16:53:08 -0700 warrenellis I'm not sure what to make of the fact that this purported British spaceplane looks like a large, black cock and balls.


Multiculturalism in action. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296237#Comment_296237 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296237#Comment_296237 Mon, 30 May 2011 17:24:15 -0700 mister hex http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296248#Comment_296248 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296248#Comment_296248 Mon, 30 May 2011 20:09:33 -0700 StefanJ Unless, of course, we have some fairly enormous break-throughs in areas like propulsion, artificial gravity, chemical and elemental transmutation, and radiation shielding.


Amen. Space travel isn't easy. It won't be cheap.

As a teen I dug the quasi-religious space boosterism of guys like Bova, Pournelle, Niven and Baen. A confused mix of free enterprise is the answer and why isn't the government funding the space program more? and rousing rhetoric like all we need is imagination and nerve.

Ungggh.

I want a space program. To some extent we need one. But I'm not holding my breath for any flashy mission action any time soon. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296274#Comment_296274 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296274#Comment_296274 Tue, 31 May 2011 06:35:05 -0700 Dickey
My name's Brian, been a lurker around this board for a bit and saw your post re: the NASA tumblr. Quickly afterwards I contacted the gentleman who ran it and it turns out he hasn't had time to throw up images on there. But he added me to the group, so posting to should be happening on a far more regular basis.

I work for a NASA contractor (primarily in the proposal dept for new contracts) so I have unique info I would love to share, but am unsure about how far my NDA extends on what I know through the company. Until then I'll probably be posting more generic-ish. However, if anybody on this thread has any kind of topic area/subject matter they'd like me to highlight, then please let me know. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296278#Comment_296278 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296278#Comment_296278 Tue, 31 May 2011 07:47:41 -0700 Oddcult
And look... just look at the pictures on the website - someone's just traced the Anastasia and coloured it in black. This isn't a real spacecraft programme! And all this press release is just saying is 'weeeelll... we think it *should* work. But fucked if I know how we're going to afford to get it beyond the photoshop stage.'

Sorry to be a downer, but the British Space Programme is never going to get out of the white vest, put down the can of Stella and stop beating me, then crying when I say I don't believe it'll change and am leaving, much as I want to believe in it. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296327#Comment_296327 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296327#Comment_296327 Tue, 31 May 2011 16:40:06 -0700 agentarsenic
fuckyeahdickeymakethatshithappen ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296393#Comment_296393 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296393#Comment_296393 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:37:14 -0700 Jamie Heron http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296574#Comment_296574 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296574#Comment_296574 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:42:02 -0700 JP Carpenter
Feels really sad watching the shuttles retire. An uncle has worked on the programme for 27 years, so it's a huge upheaval for him and his family - they're having to relocate from New Orleans to Sunnyvale. It kind of feels too like a glitch in progress - that we're retreating, sinking back down to an Earth that we're busily wrecking. I really hope that's not true, and we will keep moving forward and outward. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296579#Comment_296579 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296579#Comment_296579 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:53:00 -0700 BOODOFFSTAGE
The large, black flying cock will have an engine that runs on air and has the power to propel it into low earth orbit. That sounds incredible to me. Having engines that run on air would certainly help our world energy crisis, wouldn't it?

Unless, this engine is going to cost a bajillion dollars and will need the critical element of Unobtanium. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296684#Comment_296684 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296684#Comment_296684 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:24:43 -0700 Oddcult http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296689#Comment_296689 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296689#Comment_296689 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:17:56 -0700 Paul Duffield Also, I second Fan. I don't really care if it's America specifically or not, in fact in some ways I think it's good that America will have to depend on other space agencies to deliver payloads. The exciting and powerful thing about space travel for me has always been how multi-national and co-operative it can be. More of that please! ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296907#Comment_296907 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296907#Comment_296907 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:38:45 -0700 agentarsenic
That's fine and all but we Americans were the first ones to go to the moon and release our Budweiser™ fueled spacepiss™ across it's cratered surface. If you don't believe me, don't ask Buzz Aldrin about it because he is known to punch doubters in the face even at the risk of his space radiated brittle bones.

In all seriousness - I'd love to see some worldwide unity in getting off the rock and out there. Indian, German, Chinese, whatever, let's keep doing the thing!

My original point is about the death of an era, sure there are spaceplanes from private companies and emerging economies busy blasting rockets, but none of them are the American program in it's heyday, and nothing will ever be again. ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296908#Comment_296908 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296908#Comment_296908 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:50:04 -0700 Greasemonkey Buzz Aldrin Will Fuck You Up ]]> http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296909#Comment_296909 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296909#Comment_296909 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:01:42 -0700 ScottBieser http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296928#Comment_296928 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296928#Comment_296928 Sun, 05 Jun 2011 06:52:49 -0700 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296991#Comment_296991 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9898&Focus=296991#Comment_296991 Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:34:19 -0700 TypewriterJason
It did get me thinking; this might be the end an era, but not the end of the journey. I'm naively optimistic that the private attempts to organize space flight will be good for us... (I work in theatre, another industry that you don't exactly go into for easy money.) It might also remove the last vestiges of nation states racing to outpace each other to colonize and control...

Anyway. Here's hoping we go back. And here's hoping that the million-dollar tickets to get on Richard Branson's space bus eventually become seat sales and discount packages. Tang included.

(Longtime lurker, but first post, I think... hi!) ]]>