Good luck, Discovery!

[Judy G. Russell]

The space shuttle Discovery undocked today from the International Space Station. Touchdown is scheduled for Monday.

Oh, man. Talk about nail-biting.

Good luck, Discovery...

[Jeff]

Oh, man. Talk about nail-biting.

Good luck, Discovery...

Agreed! but what have we come to? Neither is supposed to be necessary.

- Jeff

[Judy G. Russell]

Agreed! but what have we come to? Neither is supposed to be necessary.
I hear you... but the shuttle is very old technology. It's a miracle it's still running at all.

[Peter Creasey]

>> Talk about nail-biting. <<

Judy, Yes, VERY reminiscent of the old days when I was working on the NASA Apollo Space Program. The whole flight was a time of great stress.

Then...after the spacecraft and astronauts were home safe, the splash down parties to let off steam were incredible. Truly unbelievable!

Some of my software is probably still applicable to the onboard computers running syncronously (hopefully they are running syncronously!).

I'll be very relieved when the Shuttle is back safely.

[Judy G. Russell]

I'll be very relieved when the Shuttle is back safely.
You and everyone else. I know they did what they could to make this safe, but... it is still very very old technology.

[chm]

The space shuttle Discovery undocked today from the International Space Station. Touchdown is scheduled for Monday.

Oh, man. Talk about nail-biting.

Good luck, Discovery...
Yes, I wish them the best! All along I've felt that I'm not going to feel at ease about this until the astronauts are safely back on Earth. I"ll be squeezing in watching the landing before I go to bed tonight. (Ought to be just before 2 am, my time.)

There was a good video made by the astronauts today.

If you click on my "Playground" link in my sig tag it'll take you - without too much trouble - to some live Shuttle stuff, including the video just mentioned.

chm

[Peter Creasey]

>> it is still very very old technology. <<

Judy, But still perhaps the best approach. In any event, the gains we have enjoyed from the space program, including the Space Shuttle, are countless and of very great value.

[Judy G. Russell]

In any event, the gains we have enjoyed from the space program, including the Space Shuttle, are countless and of very great value.
No question about that... but I'd sure like to see us quit pissing money down the Iraqi toilet and start moving forward with new stuff.

[Judy G. Russell]

All along I've felt that I'm not going to feel at ease about this until the astronauts are safely back on Earth.
I think everybody has that heart-in-throat feeling about this one...

[Lindsey]

You and everyone else. I know they did what they could to make this safe, but... it is still very very old technology.
Just because it's old technology doesn't mean it's doomed to fail. The telegraph is old technology, too, but two old guys using telegraph senders and receivers and Morse code beat out two young guys using a Blackberry to send a message on Jay Leno some weeks ago.

Now: the fact that it's old hardware might well be of concern, because hardware failure rates increase with age, but the same is not true of technology. The stone tools used by Neanderthals will still do the job they were designed for.

--Lindsey

[Bill Hirst]

Now: the fact that it's old hardware might well be of concern, because hardware failure rates increase with age, but the same is not true of technology. The stone tools used by Neanderthals will still do the job they were designed for.

--Lindsey

The shuttle is now scheduled to return on Tuesday at 5:07 am. Newer technology might have let them penetrate today's cloud cover for an uneventful landing. They use it on modern airliners--a hands off approach, touchdown and rollout.

[Judy G. Russell]

Nobody's suggesting that it's doomed to fail -- just that it has problems (known, major, perhaps critical problems). Quite to the contrary, we all very much hope it won't fail!

[Judy G. Russell]

That's just one example. There are now better ways of protecting things than those heat tiles that are such a problem...

[Jeff]

Just because it's old technology doesn't mean it's doomed to fail.
--Lindsey

The basic OS software and computer hardware on the Hubble is 25 years old; 15 years up there and ten years previous to that sitting on the ground waiting to be launched. It's been suggested that 'old' can mean 'bulletproof', because that's how it was done in the dark ages.

- Jeff

[Lindsey]

They use it on modern airliners--a hands off approach, touchdown and rollout.
Hmmmm, is that what they were using on that AirFrance airbus that rolled off the end of the runway in Toronto because it touched down too far down the strip in bad weather? Brand new plane, brand new technology, not such a wonderful landing. :o

My point, though, was that the shuttle's technology is no worse today than it was when the fleet was first rolled out--and in fact, you might say it is some degree better because of the experience NASA has with it. The biggest danger in the age of the fleet is the accumulated wear and tear on the parts and materials.

--Lindsey

[Lindsey]

Nobody's suggesting that it's doomed to fail -- just that it has problems (known, major, perhaps critical problems). Quite to the contrary, we all very much hope it won't fail!
Sure--it's just that those problems are the same ones the shuttle had when the technology was new. We're just painfully more aware of them now. (And you might say there's something to be said for that...)

--Lindsey

[Lindsey]

The basic OS software and computer hardware on the Hubble is 25 years old; 15 years up there and ten years previous to that sitting on the ground waiting to be launched. It's been suggested that 'old' can mean 'bulletproof', because that's how it was done in the dark ages.

And Hubble could continue being highly useful if TPTB in Washington didn't seem determined to junk it so that they could indulge in the sexier manned missions.

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

First off, I'm not going to disagree with you that the hardware itself being old is a key issue.

But saying that the age of the technology is unimportant presupposes that nothing that's been developed in the technological world over the past -- what it is now -- 20? 25 years? -- would be better!

[RayB (France)]

First off, I'm not going to disagree with you that the hardware itself being old is a key issue.

But saying that the age of the technology is unimportant presupposes that nothing that's been developed in the technological world over the past -- what it is now -- 20? 25 years? -- would be better!

I think you should all report for duty at NASA. They probably aren't taking advantage of your talents.

[Judy G. Russell]

I'm not saying anything the people at NASA aren't saying. If they had the funding, they would love to build something new to replace the aging shuttle "fleet". They're all quite concerned about the fact that it's so old and so much more could be done.

[Jeff]

And Hubble could continue being highly useful if TPTB in Washington didn't seem determined to junk it so that they could indulge in the sexier manned missions.

--Lindsey

Yeah, someone needs to tell those loony tunes about the little rovers that can. I just checked their web site. They were supposed to last for 90 days. They are at 565 days and are still running around sending back pictures and data. We're gonna put men on Mars for 565 days? After they spend the same six months getting there?

- Jeff

[RayB (France)]

Well, at least Discovery is back safe and sound . . . . . . in spite of having a woman driver. Oy vey!!

[Judy G. Russell]

And the Mars Rovers are surviving despite having a male driver (my brother, the space cadet, who claims it wasn't HIS fault one of the rovers got stuck in sand!)...

[chm]

Isn't astronaut Eileen wonderful? She's my hero.

Well, all these astronauts are.

I'm so glad the Discovery and its crew are safely back on Earth. And, job well done!

[Lindsey]

But saying that the age of the technology is unimportant
No, no, I wasn't saying it was unimportant; I just haven't been biting my nails over the fact that it's not the latest and greatest.

--Lindsey

[Lindsey]

Yeah, someone needs to tell those loony tunes about the little rovers that can.
Aren't they great? I'd much rather NASA spend money putting up more rovers. They work for peanuts, and you don't have to do garbage collection runs for them. :D

--Lindsey

[Lindsey]

And the Mars Rovers are surviving despite having a male driver (my brother, the space cadet, who claims it wasn't HIS fault one of the rovers got stuck in sand!)...
LOL!! Those rovers are truly amazing. As are the engineers who design and troubleshoot them.

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

Those rovers are truly amazing. As are the engineers who design and troubleshoot them.
Indeed. They've already lived past their projected lifespan by a huge amount and seem in no danger of conking out any time soon. Spectacular stuff they're sending back... The project website (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/) is wonderful.

[RayB (France)]

**(my brother, the space cadet, who claims it wasn't HIS fault one of the rovers got stuck in sand!)**

Well, was it?

[Judy G. Russell]

Probably not. He says not. And I know there are several different teams who are working the rovers, so it doesn't HAVE to be his fault. (It isn't like he and his team are the only controllers.)

But it's more fun to blame him...

[Jeff]

And the Mars Rovers are surviving despite having a male driver (my brother, the space cadet, who claims it wasn't HIS fault one of the rovers got stuck in sand!)...

Really? Your brother is driving one? Which one? I thought it was kinda neat that the one got stuck, and even neater that they got it out, but what about the one with the flat tire? Alright it was a broken wheel, so what..?

- Jeff

[chm]

Here's a tip of my hat to those Mars Rovers. (hat tip)

They were supposed to last only six months - and how long is it now that they've been up there and sending back Mars info?

(Speaking of longevity - the Shuttles were only supposed to last ten years. If you look at it from from that POV, the Shuttles are holding up rather well.)

Today I'm still mostly glad that Shuttle and astronauts are home safe.

chm

[Judy G. Russell]

Really? Your brother is driving one? Which one? I thought it was kinda neat that the one got stuck, and even neater that they got it out, but what about the one with the flat tire? Alright it was a broken wheel, so what..?
I'm pretty sure the one he's been driving is Opportunity, which is the one that got stuck. And he sent this note along:

"This is a good one: one of the rover drivers phoned 'Car Talk' to ask how to winterize his vehicle... they asked what kind of vehicle and he said it was a kit car, but it was very expensive ($800 million)... then they asked how cold it gets and he said VERY cold..."

I don't tell him this very much but having him for a brother can be a lot of fun. He's recognized internationally as one of the finest planetary science imagers around (Michael Benson in his book Beyond credits him with some fabulous imaging) and the stuff he's done or worked on is spectacular...