SPACE

Yak · Post by **Yak** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:44 am 0

We picked 'em up on the scanner as they went over here too

.

Post by **RiK** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 1:42 am 0

Yak wrote:We picked 'em up on the scanner as they went over here too .

Geektastic!

zip accident · Post by **zip accident** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:57 am 0

I don't like this the way this is being sold. Space travel is important. Here it's being trivialised into a circus for the masses, and that's all wrong.

15,000 mph? it has to go that fast, orbital speed is 18,000, it must go at least that fast or fail.

This is being sold to the funding (USAian) public as a spectacle. What is needed is something like a train or bus journey, regular, reliable, but not that spectacular.

Darkflame · Post by **Darkflame** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:12 am 0

Absolutely.
But untill that time as we have a space elivator (or another ultra-cheap method), theres not much harm in raiseing funds any way we can.

zip accident · Post by **zip accident** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:39 am 0

Darkflame wrote:

But untill that time as we have a space elivator (or another ultra-cheap method), theres not much harm in raiseing funds any way we can.

A problem I have is that the public is being taught that spaceflight is pretty, and spectacular, and infrequent, when it needs to be none of those things, with the prospect that when it ceases to be those things the funding will dry up.

Wikipedia says mass drivers won't be economically viable for one ton masses for some time. I think that the initial hardware investment would be very substantial, but the per firing cost should be better than rockets, after all the system is electric and there is no need to carry any fuel (beyond that for manouvering once up in space) in the payload.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_driver

WiteWulf · Post by **WiteWulf** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 4:29 pm 0

WOW

Stoopidly-hi-res version here:
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1853 ... pd2257.jpg

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:01 pm 0

Funnily enough I've already resized and cropped the hires version of that as my desktop background for my 24" 1920x1200 monitor.

Looks quite good really!

Mind you it would be better if I used my monitor in vertical mode!

craigt · Post by **craigt** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:06 pm 0

Dunno if it's already been mentioned in the thread, but a quick heads up anyway. You should be able to see the ISS overhead at about 10:30 tonight, followed closely by Endevour about 3 or 4 minutes behind. Check your local times here... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/si ... on=England

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:11 pm 0

craigt wrote:Dunno if it's already been mentioned in the thread, but a quick heads up anyway. You should be able to see the ISS overhead at about 10:30 tonight, followed closely by Endevour about 3 or 4 minutes behind. Check your local times here... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/si ... on=England

so what do you actually see? a couple of moving dots?

craigt · Post by **craigt** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:15 pm 0

I think so. I've never seen them before, but I heard they move at quite a pace.

I'm taking the binolulars out into the back garden to see if I can make anything out.

PVB · Post by **PVB** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:17 pm 0

Misfit wrote:
craigt wrote:Dunno if it's already been mentioned in the thread, but a quick heads up anyway. You should be able to see the ISS overhead at about 10:30 tonight, followed closely by Endevour about 3 or 4 minutes behind. Check your local times here... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/si ... on=England
so what do you actually see? a couple of moving dots?

I'll let you know in twenty five minutes.

BTW, this site Zoot mentioned:

http://www.yakyak.org/viewtopic.php?p=1174153#1174153

produces much better info for spotting these (and other) space objects, including star charts.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:18 pm 0

PVB wrote:
Misfit wrote:
craigt wrote:Dunno if it's already been mentioned in the thread, but a quick heads up anyway. You should be able to see the ISS overhead at about 10:30 tonight, followed closely by Endevour about 3 or 4 minutes behind. Check your local times here... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/si ... on=England
so what do you actually see? a couple of moving dots?
I'll let you know in twenty five minutes.

BTW, this site Zoot mentioned:

http://www.yakyak.org/viewtopic.php?p=1174153#1174153

produces much better info for spotting these (and other) space objects, including star charts.

Yes, I registered on Heavens Above. Clever stuff. Still not sure it is going to help me much!

teamonkey · Post by **teamonkey** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:22 pm 0

zip accident wrote:I don't like this the way this is being sold. Space travel is important. Here it's being trivialised into a circus for the masses, and that's all wrong.

It's fucking cool though.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:40 pm 0

Well it was just two dots.

But it was pretty cool!

Did binoculars help?

PVB · Post by **PVB** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:43 pm 0

Misfit wrote:
PVB wrote:
Misfit wrote:
craigt wrote:Dunno if it's already been mentioned in the thread, but a quick heads up anyway. You should be able to see the ISS overhead at about 10:30 tonight, followed closely by Endevour about 3 or 4 minutes behind. Check your local times here... http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/si ... on=England
so what do you actually see? a couple of moving dots?
I'll let you know in twenty five minutes.

BTW, this site Zoot mentioned:

http://www.yakyak.org/viewtopic.php?p=1174153#1174153

produces much better info for spotting these (and other) space objects, including star charts.
Yes, I registered on Heavens Above. Clever stuff. Still not sure it is going to help me much!

I sawed it!

Even though I'm in the middle of a large urban area, with the night sky being a dark orange, I still saw both the ISS and Shuttle.

The ISS was as bright as the brightest star (that I can see from here; only about 50 stars visible at most).

It looked a little sharper than the other stars and was travelling quite fast across the sky.

Looking straight up and facing west, it appeared over the rooftops a little north of due west, seeming like a jet liner moving across the heavens.

Shortly after it dimmed and disappeared to the east, the Shuttle appeared in practically the same origin point over the rooftops, but a lot dimmer, say about as dim as the tiniest stars I can see from here.

It travelled as fast and along the same path.

My sister just sent a text to say she saw them both from Maidstone.