Spiffy, yes... but also unlikely. Sounds to me like Nasa, always desperate for attention, wanted a cute human interest story. I doubt they really didn't know what each astronaut brought with them.

Talon: Spiffy, yes... but also unlikely. Sounds to me like Nasa, always desperate for attention, wanted a cute human interest story. I doubt they really didn't know what each astronaut brought with them.

"Hmmm, Atlantis is weighing in at roughly 20 lbs more than it should according to the meticuously gathered data, tripple-checked by the most anal retentive nerds available on the planet.

Meh, probably nothing...."

Yep this article is a load of rubbish, just PR crap from NASA. I'm pretty sure they need to weigh and catalogue everything that goes on the shuttle.

wow, week old turkey for thanksgiving.

likesass: wow, week old turkey for thanksgiving.

It's not just turkey, it's SPAAAAAAACE TURKEY.

Talon: Spiffy, yes... but also unlikely. Sounds to me like Nasa, always desperate for attention, wanted a cute human interest story. I doubt they really didn't know what each astronaut brought with them.

Well, considering the fact that the average America is dumbing down pretty much on anything regarding culture, history, love for-- Hey, American Idol is on!.

How the hell do you make turkey keep for that long? Do they even have refrigeration up there?

likesass: wow, week old turkey for thanksgiving.

Well, according to TFA, it's smoked and irradiated.

Hope they remembered to bring Rad Away too...

Just over 15 minutes till touchdown (9:44 EST).

Spacevidcast has a stream as usual. (new window)

That must have been challenging to do.

Pxtl: How the hell do you make turkey keep for that long? Do they even have refrigeration up there?

They have plenty of access to a near vacuum cold storage right outside the nearest airlock.

"Ground control, we're initiating space walk mission #34. Estimated duration 2 minutes. We... Errr... Are going out for cigarettes?"

Would have been more fun with a live turkey. Might get a little messy when it's time to chop off the head, but they could consider it a training exercise.

...I know during Apollo each astronaut was allowed to bring up a certain weight worth of 'personal' stuff under only minimal rules - the idea was that it would be things you could pass down to the grandkids or your alma mater and say, "This was in space-" so if that's still in force, it would explain being able to bring up a fair amount of goodies. OTOH, that program got a good hard look after the Apollo 15 crew brought up stamps and coins, then sold them for a tidy profit.

You know who else smuggled turkeys onto the space shuttle...

global wombats: Just over 15 minutes till touchdown (9:44 EST).

Spacevidcast has a stream as usual. (new window)

NASA TVs stream: One minute late, as usual...
/8:40 to go

Subby should have used the asinine tag. When Nasa claims it cost tens of thousands of dollars to put one pound in space. Imagine what this cost the taxpayers because some shuttle jockeys didn't want to have a belated Thanksgiving.

first visual

Speaking of turkeys and shuttle landings: is anyone else annoyed by the female "announcer" on the NASA feed?

From the actual AP article (new window):

It's just "turkey" not "A turkey."

And...

Weeks if not months ago, NASA had stocked the space station with turkey dinners and all the trimmings, knowing there would be at least one American in orbit over the holiday.

Sounds like there wasn't any "sneaking of cargo onto the space ship" going on.

"Les Nesman reporting live ... ."

What's the big deal? It makes a nice human interest story and gives good press to NASA.

Touchdown!

Help me out here Farkers:

In the movie Ice Pirates, didn't Space Herpes emerge from a turkey prepared onboard a spaceship? Has NASA learned nothing?

It always freaks me out how they don't put the landing gear down until the last minute.

eddyatwork: What's the big deal? It makes a nice human interest story and gives good press to NASA.

It's only a big deal to people who misinterpreted the story to mean that the astronauts snuck a whole turkey onto the shuttle.

MIguy: It always freaks me out how they don't put the landing gear down until the last minute.

You're flying a thing that basically has the lift of a brick coming through the air at supersonic speed. The last thing you want is more drag until the last minute, seeing as they have exactly one chance at landing the thing.

Pxtl: How the hell do you make turkey keep for that long? Do they even have refrigeration up there?

They just put the turkey outside to keep it cold.

Also, I feel sorry for all you people, assuming you're working on Black Friday like myself.

MIguy

It always freaks me out how they don't put the landing gear down until the last minute.

You know the old saw: If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.

They need a slower teleprompter.

ZackDanger: From the actual AP article (new window):

It's just "turkey" not "A turkey."

The entire country?

Larva Lump: "Les Nesman reporting live ... ."

So help me God I thought turkeys could reenter safely from orbit.

Billzebub: Also, I feel sorry for all you people, assuming you're working on Black Friday like myself.

I would feel even more sorry for the people who have the day off -- and still spend it posting on Fark.

Up next from Inaccuratemitter:

ASTRONAUTS SMUGGLE GRANDFATHER CLOCK ONTO SPACE SHUTTLE... oh wait, one of them was wearing a wristwatch.

A couple ounces of smoked and irradiated turkey is not a whole fuggin' turkey. Seriously, are the mods even checking the stories anymore?

Not sure how this relates to the Thanksgiving holiday, but hey, enjoy.

Wow. They have tighter security at the Greyhound Bus Station.

Cornwell:
" tripple-checked


You wanna know how I know you drink beers from Belgium?


;)

MIguy: It always freaks me out how they don't put the landing gear down until the last minute.

Put it down any earlier, and you'll tear the gear off. That is one of the reasons why it doesn't fly crewless.

There is no mechanism to raise it in flight. If, for any reason (human/mechanical/electronic), it comes down earlier, you have a crashed ship.

Now this is weird... I read about this last night, and I could have sworn the story said that NASA had surprised the astronauts with a turkey dinner that they didn't know they had waiting for them on the shuttle, not the other way around.

Either way, cool beans, spacepeople...

Billzebub: Pxtl: How the hell do you make turkey keep for that long? Do they even have refrigeration up there?

They just put the turkey outside to keep it cold.

Also, I feel sorry for all you people, assuming you're working on Black Friday like myself.

Why in the hell employers don't give this day off is beyond me. It's not like a whole lot is getting done around here. Also it's not we doing anything that can't wait until Monday.

Wonderduck: ZackDanger: From the actual AP article (new window):

It's just "turkey" not "A turkey."

The entire country?

No. That would be "Turkey" not "turkey."

Apparently there was a coordination to replace one of the "normal" meals with the turkey and fixings meal. It is normal NASA food, but the swap was made unbeknownst to a large number of the NASA people so it could be a surprise to the astronauts.

Lord Farkwad: Subby should have used the asinine tag. When Nasa claims it cost tens of thousands of dollars to put one pound in space. Imagine what this cost the taxpayers because some shuttle jockeys didn't want to have a belated Thanksgiving.

That is the most un-American thing I have ever heard and is tantamount to boderline treason. This is farking America: WE EAT TURKEY IN HONOR OF OUR COUNTRIES FORFATHERS!!!

Shakespeare's Monkey

[Turkey from Space]

Nice. Looks a little dry, though. Got any gravy?

eddyatwork: What's the big deal? It makes a nice human interest story and gives good press to NASA.

The deal is that it's a lie and it lowers the critical thinking ability of the average American by another notch.

Why couldn't the story be: "NASA makes special thanksgiving-flavored astronaut food for the good old boys in space!"?

No lie needed.

Welcome home, Atlantis!

I am just so %&*#@$%#@ happy to see you back
safe and sound.

Gods damn what am I gonna do when these biatches
ain't flyin' any more?

Plan splashdown parties for Constellation missions
featuring Re-entry Smoked Space Turkey with Super
Lemon Haze Basting Sauce or Head Bang Gravy and
Ricochet Biscuits??

...Ah, there she is, APU shutdown. She's going to
curl up and go back to sleep now....

/must include catastrophically misspelled wine list written in purple and orange crayon

addendum to my last:
There is the capability for remote control landing, installed in '06. Apparently only to be used if it is already mostly toast, and they don't want to risk the crew.

hmm...maybe unmanned missions after next year?

Billzebub: Pxtl: How the hell do you make turkey keep for that long? Do they even have refrigeration up there?

They just put the turkey outside to keep it cold.

Also, I feel sorry for all you people, assuming you're working on Black Friday like myself.

Same here. Despite having vacation time I have to use, I still got suckered into coming in this morning despite it being dead as hell.

If it wasn't for FARK, I might have to actually get some work done today, just to pass the time.

The point of a Fark headline is to amuse, not to inform.

There is no Fark end-of-year contest for "Most Informative Headline," is there?

You never see a TFer give +1 to headline based on its information value, do you?

You never see posters giving kudos to a submitter for "nice facts" or "good accuracy," do you?

This if Fark. Headlines are for lulz, and only for lulz.

OK... after going back and rereading the article I read last night, I get it now... NASA put some turkey & trimmings into the food supplies for the International Space Station some time ago. The commander of the station then sneaks some of this food onboard the Space Shuttle before it leaves the station to surprise the Shuttle crew.

It all makes sense now...

BDR459: Why in the hell employers don't give this day off is beyond me.

Ditto. If you're salaried then you blow a vacation day because it's stupid to go visit family or friends then come back for one day when you really don't give a shiat anyway. If you're hourly then you probably don't get vacation so it's either blow the day off and lose a day's pay or sit there idle hating your life.

Joce678: The deal is that it's a lie and it lowers the critical thinking ability of the average American by another notch.

I think, perhaps, you've overestimated the critical thinking ability of the average American by a notch or so.