Ares 1-X Launch
Comments(10)
I had a meeting out of town and missed the launch, so I thought I’d put it up in case you did too. I like the imagery from the rocket.
Some were trying to do their best to make the launch a failure because of a partial parachute failure for the booster section as it returned. Partial = one of three parachutes and the one that failed actually deployed first.
The parachutes are being checked out this weekend and it could be a failure of he suspension system and not of the chute material.
It may be a moot point. The Obama administration may be heading towards ending human spaceflight anyways. Some will cheer this news I suppose, I don’t exactly cheer the “dumbing down” of America any more than we have. Even from an economic standpoint it’s not a great move either, unless putting thousands more out of work is good.
Course, the argument is well we can leave these things to someone else and just get what we need from them. Them being somebody else, anybody else. Yep that is true, and look how good that’s working for us in general. In the whole country we don’t even have a single manufacturer for the flu vaccine for crying out loud. We have allowed ourselves to be at the mercy of everybody else because we have lost the ability to do for us.
It’s a disgraceful situation. Oh and for the record, the handling of he H1N1 thing is an embarrassment, good thing it’s not a more serious flu we’d really be up the creek.
Here’s the video source.
I stand behind Tom 100% on this post. It’s a tough thing to say, and a difficult opinion to express right now, but it needs to be said.
Amen to all you said, Tom.
well put. what Michael Amen
oops meant to say what Michael said,, I tried..
Well, Tom, if pulling the plug on human space flight means putting those amazing minds of this great country to work on the problems we face here on Earth, then I am all for it. There has been a terrible dumbing down of our country the past decade or two, but what’s the point of trying to solve problems out there when there are prblems that need to be solved here, like handling viral outbreaks, for instance. Let’s be honest with ourselves, space is not a human friendly environment, and to think that we could ever realisticly solve the ever present problem of conquering the space and time traveling problem- we can’t take care of ourselves on this planet! The cost of human space flight is outrageous. Having the government agenies around the world in charge of space flight is the other catastrophy!!
I’ve seen it several times – people saying we have to quit spending money in space! No one (that we know of) has EVER spend a penny in space. Its all been spent right here. And if it wasn’t for our huge expenditures on the space program in the past, you would not be reading this, you would not be able to respond to it, you would not have a LED or LCD screen, you would not have wireless access, you would not have cable TV. Obama wants to stimulate everything, but it seems Japan and China are reaping the rewards of this. How about stimulating the economy through the space industry? Most of it would be spent in the US.
I’m behind Tom also and I wonder why Mark even enjoys this site.
mark, you think the space program has not yielded positive advancements? Already then…… Seriously, your thoughts are welcome, it seems to me those “great minds” (in the space program) shouldn’t have to be the ones dealing with the issues, and those that should be, are caught up in the petty politics of the day. The problems are due to everybody being so polarized their egos won’t allow them to take off the blinders.
Look, I understand that this country made some awesome advances in technology through the cold war years and through the existing space program. I didn’t mean literally, that the great minds in the space program should help or handle our problems. I enjoy using bluetooth, my flat screen, and my satellite radio. It’s been over 30 years since anything or anyone has topped the moon landing. Why, what’s reason for the not doing somehing great again? I watched the mars rovers, the landing on the astroid, the catching of comet dust and what has that brought us? I am beginning to look at our current space program like a VCR, cassette player – maybe an 8track player- all those things are all useless now. Just like those missions. No one in the private sector can come close to getting into space. Why? Because they have made so expensive, the costs are outrageous! I don’t believe throwing money at something makes it better. John is totally right! No one has spent a penny in space because they go broke trying to get there!!
Thanks Tom for this little journey “outsite space” and back to the eatch
It’s an interesting topic for people like me living outside the US, in a country (Italy) where “space” is an alien word… yeah scientists, research, some piece of technology for some satellite, but no Nasa, no Space Centers nothing exciting
The reason is very simple, it’s too expensive…
Perhaps I’m wrong, but in this post I see a bit of anger for something that make US proud.
It’s not a matter of stupid pride, if some day in the future China, or Japan, or EU or someone else will reach the US in the aerospace field It’s not a problem imho.
It will be better for mankind, thinking only to interests of a single country it’s a bit reductive; we are all together on this little blue spot in the universe, anche we are dependent each other
I think it’s a waste of time think about pride and glorius past, listen to someone who live in a desperate country that spend more time thinking to the glorius Roman past than to think about the future…