staplermofo: If I were in NASA's place, I'd name things going into space after things that didn't blow up and sink into the ocean, and aren't considered by many to be fake.

They've named a shuttle "Moon Landing"?

Somewhere Donovan is preparing for the day.

there is more science involved when they blow up.

staplermofo: If I were in NASA's place, I'd name things going into space after things that didn't blow up and sink into the ocean, and aren't considered by many to be fake.

They've named a shuttle "Moon Landing"


The moon landing sank to the bottom of the ocean?

IT just blows my mind that NASA has safety officers that routinely come to them and state grimly that there is a problem that could have serious consequences and the NASA brass ignore them and launch anyway.

They were warned about Apollo 1
They were warned about Challenger
They were warned about Columbia

All three times, NASA brass ignored the warnings. WTF

All aboard the starship Icarus.

acerod06: staplermofo: If I were in NASA's place, I'd name things going into space after things that didn't blow up and sink into the ocean, and aren't considered by many to be fake.

They've named a shuttle "Moon Landing"


The moon landing sank to the bottom of the ocean?

Well, yeah. The rocket with the real astronauts had to go somewhere.

funmonger: All aboard the starship Icarus.

This much WIN should be illegal.

Hey, a multi-million dollar mission to push the boundaries of low Earth orbit.

I'm certainly in favor of that.

mark12A: I'm wondering what happens after 2010, when the shuttles are out of service, and the replacement spacecraft, Orion, will not be ready, and may be delayed even further, and the only way we can get to the space station we built will be via Russian Soyus spacecraft (assuming Leader for Life Putin still gives us rides)...
COTS - Commercial Orbital Transportation Services.

ranold: Somewhere Donovan is preparing for the day.

Atlanta was a city... landlocked,
Hundreds of miles from the area we now call the Atlantic Ocean.
Yet so desperate the city's desire for tourism
That they moved offshore, becoming an island and an even bigger Delta hub.
Until the city overdeveloped and it started to sink.
Knowing their fate, the quality people ran away:
Ted Turner, Hank Aaron, Jeff Foxworthy, the guy who invented Coca Cola, the magician...
And the other so-called gods of our legends, though gods they were,
And also Jane Fonda was there.
The others chose to remain behind on their porches with their rifles
And one day evolving to mermaids and sing and dance and ring in the new.

Hail Atlanta!

how many billions trillions of dollars have we spent on the space program just to hover around in low earth orbit and not explore other planets/moons in our solar system or send probes into deep space?

I mean for the kind of money we've spent wasted on low earth we could have feed how many starving nubians in Africa?

To be fair(er), they're probably warned in some way shape or form about every shuttle launch.

It's just that when something does actually go wrong, there's always someone there to say "See? I told you so!"

Your head asplode (new window)

Oldiron_79

Uh, total cost of the entire shuttle program (projected to program end in 2010): $170 Billion.

I'm going to hell for this one...

Nice, that means NASA TV will be Must See TV. :D

Invincible: Oldiron_79

Uh, total cost of the entire shuttle program (projected to program end in 2010): $170 Billion.

OK, how many starving nubians will 170 billion feed?

This reminds me of the question asked in the movie ARMAGEDON: "So, how does it feel knowing you're about to be shot up into space in a vehicle with over 200,000 moving parts and built by the lowest bidder?"

EmployeeOfTheMinute

funmonger: All aboard the starship Icarus.

This much WIN should be illegal.


That story always makes me wax philosophical.

Shock_wave:
They were warned about Apollo 1
They were warned about Challenger
They were warned about Columbia

All three times, NASA brass ignored the warnings. WTF

"Go fever." That's TFW.

Oldiron_79: how many billions trillions of dollars have we spent on the space program just to hover around in low earth orbit and not explore other planets/moons in our solar system or send probes into deep space?

I mean for the kind of money we've spent wasted on low earth we could have feed how many starving nubians in Africa?

To be fair, NASA's budget is tiny compared to the other sections of the national budget. Their entire funding for a year would be a drop in the ocean of Social Security or national defense.

That said, I'm sick of trips to "Tree Fort 1" -- where the astronauts have their little club meetings -- being sold to us as space exploration and research.

Oldiron_79:

OK, how many starving nubians will 170 billion feed?

None.

The money would, instead, go to funding the war in Iraq, or the war on something, somewhere. And the money would last a few months there, as opposed to more than 30 years in the space program.

Say what we will about spending all this time stuck in LEO, but we learned how to mount a sustained, cooperative effort among several nations for a strictly peaceful purpose. Even with all the squabbling, we got the job done.

Worth the price of admission.

GhostWing: Oldiron_79:

OK, how many starving nubians will 170 billion feed?

None.

The money would, instead, go to funding the war in Iraq, or the war on something, somewhere. And the money would last a few months there, as opposed to more than 30 years in the space program.

Say what we will about spending all this time stuck in LEO, but we learned how to mount a sustained, cooperative effort among several nations for a strictly peaceful purpose. Even with all the squabbling, we got the job done.

Worth the price of admission.

Glad a few folks still get it.

Shock_wave: IT just blows my mind that NASA has safety officers that routinely come to them and state grimly that there is a problem that could have serious consequences and the NASA brass ignore them and launch anyway.

In fairness it's one of the most complex machines ever built. I'm sure there are always a hundred things poised to go horribly wrong with it.

NASA may not be perfect but IMHO they're doing a decent job. Any space exploration is goodness.

Manned space missions: I want my farking money back! What an idiotic idea.

staplermofo
If I were in NASA's place, I'd name things going into space after things that didn't blow up and sink into the ocean, and aren't considered by many to be fake.

The word "atlantis" means, "The island of Atlas" - I think the name is meant to be a poetic reference to Earth itself. We're an island, except in space. Atlas was the greek god that held the Earth aloft.

Tofu: The word "atlantis" means, "The island of Atlas" - I think the name is meant to be a poetic reference to Earth itself. We're an island, except in space. Atlas was the greek god that held the Earth aloft.

All the space shuttles are named after other ships of exploration.

I know some of you farkers would sell your soul for this workstation.

Dennis_Moore: (Your Shuttle Asplode pic)

Awesome - farking saved.

/black humor is sometimes the best humor

Yay - they get to go up and inspect the damned thing again.

/BFD