NASA's Most Dangerous Mission Ever, set for tomorrow 5/11/09- being stranded in space possible

I haven't read all the posts here so i don't know if anyone has posted any information regarding the space debris that is making this mission one of the most dangerous ones. With the Chinese destroying that weather satellite during a anti-satellite missile test in Jan. 2007 and the Russian and U.S. satellite collision in Feb. 2009 there is a lot more space junk in that general area. I say general because the the chinese test was at 500 miles and the collision was at 490 miles. The Hubble is approximately at 350 miles up so there is still a difference of 150 miles but up there at those speeds that is not a great distance. Its dangerous for anything to be up there and when something as small a screw can blow a hole in steel it puts the astronauts at great risk in the shuttle let alone outside on a space walk. This mission has been in planning for sometime so its not a complete surprise although i didn't know it was go until yesterday.

I believe the deciding factor was perhaps the recent discovery of the "oldest object in the universe" which they found after they recorded a gamma ray burst that lasted 10 seconds. This object is estimated to be 13 billion years old which would be about 600 million years after the big bang. This makes it 95% as old as the universe(as we believe it to be) and i recently read an article that they(those in nasa, etc.) believe with the repairs to the hubble they might be able to reach 98%. I can't find that article anywhere now but take my word for it or don't. I also believe there are "things" out there we are not being told about and this might be another part of the reason for this mission. I say that is just my belief because i really don't have any hard evidence just a gut feeling as someone who spends a lot of time researching space related information.

I think it is a great thing that we are spending the money and taking the risk to fix this icon of space exploration. Hubble has been responsible for so much information and I don't believe it should just sit up there and decay when it is still useful. I know NASA isn't exactly about full disclosure about things but what else do we have. With the shuttle fleet being retired in Sept. 2010 and the Orion not being ready til 2015 there is gonna be 5 years of hitching rides with the russians so with only 8 more missions scheduled it is crunch time to repair the hubble and get the ISS fully completed.

Space Junk Map

Oldest Object In Universe

"...one of the most dangerous missions ever."

I'm sure the crews of Columbia & Challenger would beg to differ.

Fact is every mission is dangerous. This "most dangerous" talk is 100% pure NASA Public Relations nonsense.

That being said, God Speed to you, Shuttle Atlantis.

From the get go the *most dangerous mission ever* is just hype and just more hype (nice way of saying BS).
Ok so there’s a *risky* shuttle mission whatever, blah blah blah.
Sorry, but I’m so bloody soured to anything that comes out of the governments mouth these kind of headlines just make me grimace.

I don’t believe for one moment we're being told the real reason they're going on this mission.
I don’t believe it’s risky - or more so than any other mission.

I think it’s all just more hype, fear, OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDD THEY MIGHT DIE and truly just something else to take peoples minds off of what’s truly important.

The only thing good that might come out of this - IMO - Disclosure.
Wouldn’t it be fab to have the shuttle fall into distress and the Calvary that rides in to save the day be Our Friendly Aliens.
But I have a sneaking suspicion that’s not going to happen either.

So good luck and God Bless to all on the Shuttle.
Come home in one peace! (No type error that)...

No reflection on you QA, thanks for the post.



Edit: To add post I didn't see...

"...one of the most dangerous missions ever."
I'm sure the crews of Columbia & Challenger would beg to differ.
Fact is every mission is dangerous. This "most dangerous" talk is 100% pure NASA Public Relations nonsense.
That being said, God Speed to you, Shuttle Atlantis.

Great minds - great minds...


peace


[edit on 11-5-2009 by silo13]

Originally posted by silo13
I don’t believe for one moment we're being told the real reason they're going on this mission.
I don’t believe it’s risky - or more so than any other mission.

So... are you suggesting they aren't going to the hubble, or are you suggesting the iridium satellite collision didn't happen? Because if they are going to hubble's orbit and if the iridium satellite collision was real, then there is a higher risk of a debris strike on this mission than on any other (the collision occured much higher in altitude than the ISS, and hubble is positioned between the ISS and Iridium sat altitude), and unlike ISS assembly missions there's nowhere to fall back to should they start losing cabin pressure.

[edit on 11-5-2009 by ngchunter]

reply to post by questioningall


Hey there...this was on all day yesterday on Fox News. I didn't listen that much. Then I went to get the Sunday paper and we had a huge article in it too. It seems to be a huge deal; wish I had paid more attention! I hope it goes well!

Thanks for all of the information!
FMF

A history of the Hubble telescope link: www.msnbc.msn.com...

But once in orbit Hubble was sidetracked with flawed vision and shuddering vibration. Two months after its fiery ascent from Cape Canaveral in April 1990, embarrassed astronomers admitted that the telescope's goals were seriously compromised. Some systems worked well, but not the critical scientific packages.

Massive fix-it
The space shuttle Endeavour with a crew of seven departed Earth on Mission 61 at 4:27 a.m. ET on Dec. 2, 1993.

When the shuttle reached Hubble, the astronauts captured the observatory with Endeavour's robotic arm. Spacewalkers, working in pairs, went through an astonishing week of giving the crippled telescope new life and sparkling accuracy.

Floating 375 miles above a curving horizon, appearing as if they were living snowmen, the astronauts performed weightless ballets to make their repairs. It was a feat unparalleled in history. Spacegoing surgeons operated beneath a star-filled theater.

Eight days passed. Endeavour and her crew were back on Earth. Hubble managers waited fretfully to find out if the space surgery was as successful as promised.

Three men and one woman. Endeavour's spacewalkers had corrected Hubble's vision to even greater sharpness and clarity than its creators had ever hoped. Robert Hager, my NBC News colleague, turned to me and said, "It's amazing what you can do with a $629 million pair of contact lenses."

In 1997, 1999 and 2002 they installed better cameras and made improvements. America's far-seeing eye gave us breathtaking vistas of every corner of the universe including the celebrated image of Eagle Nebula, a star-studded region 6,500 light years away. The pictures were instantly called the "Pillars of Creation," and because Hubble is really a time machine, the Eagle Nebula images we see were formed 1,500 years before the Pyramids were built.

From the Eagle Nebula, Hubble turned its eye to events and places millions and billions of years old. The farther it looked, the closer it saw creation's infant steps following the big bang, history's most important singularity. The telescope was coming closer to the instant the universe began.

Hubble shed light on the age of creation (13.7 billion years), and it has shown us galaxies upon galaxies expanding quicker than before. It has shown us the effects of massive black holes and dark energy. It has outlined the very web that is holding the universe together, looking back across 12.9 billion years, 94.16 percent of existence itself.

Today this famed eye, this magnificent machine is showing its age. Three of its major instruments are broken. Half of its six gyroscopes needed to place Hubble on target have failed. Its batteries are slowly dying.

But if this final servicing mission works, if the new instruments come to life in Hubble's bowels, the new eyes will take astronomers to within 500 to 600 million years of the birth of the universe.

There is more in the article - but this is the history of our repairs and so on with it.

reply to post by ngchunter

So... are you suggesting they aren't going to the hubble, or are you suggesting the iridium satellite collision didn't happen?

I’m not suggesting anything.
I’m saying I don’t believe any of it.
Too many lies, for too long from the same *sources*.

Even if playing Monday morning quarterback is a losers game - at least I wont be wiping egg of my face.
In other words I’m going to *wait and see* - and from what I’ve been reading I’m not the only one.
I guess misery loves company after all.

peace

Originally posted by silo13
reply to post by ngchunter

 

I’m not suggesting anything.
I’m saying I don’t believe any of it.
Too many lies, for too long from the same *sources*.

I have yet to see one of these "lies" proven to be a "lie." I see no reason to disbelieve the "official NASA story" that the mission will visit Hubble to repair it, or that the Iridium satellite collision was fake.

Even if playing Monday morning quarterback is a losers game - at least I wont be wiping egg of my face.
In other words I’m going to *wait and see* - and from what I’ve been reading I’m not the only one.
I guess misery loves company after all.

I've encountered a number of people now who all insist that the space shuttle doesn't really go to orbit at all. Their numbers do not make them less wrong. If I can get an image, or if other amatuers can get an image, of the shuttle and hubble together will you conceed that NASA is not lying about this mission?

Sometimes the conspiracy flue does tend to get the better of everyone, not everything is a conspiracy..!

Without great minds like these or those from ancient times we would all still be dragging women into the caves and thumping our chest as a sign of dominance.

Please try and keep things on a reality level.

i think you are more interested in the navy's research in space. those would be a much higer suspect to what they are actually doing up there.

once again...

nasa = civilian space flight...

yes its run by military, no we arent allowed in, yes they go to space, no you cant go cus you dont have enough money/intelligence/influence, yes they are fixing stuff, no you wont be able to see it, yes it will be dangerous, no you wont be able to tell a difference if it is or isnt, and obviously you don't care much for the safety of others by reading.

there's only 5 flights left before they shutdown. have some respect for these men and women who have the coolest/dangerous/awesome job ever.

no, working at McDonald's doesn't count as even close or relevant.

its just so much easier to not even tell the public anything and just do it however they see fit, like the navy could. the navy has their own space shuttle, and they have been in space for a long time. they can do whatever it is that you think our nasa could do, but without having to answer any questions to anyone of lower "civilian rank"

sorry, just doesnt make sense why they would lie about it unless something showed up and said hi

Originally posted by questioningall
reply to post by Max_TO

 

Funny too - it only mentions the commander of the group - no other members of the group/astronauts are mentioned. hhhmmm......

No hhhmmmm involved. The guy is the mission commander, and he was a Tom Cruise stunt double, which kinda stands out a bit.

Originally posted by mrwupy

Originally posted by questioningall
It's not a rush launch either, this has been planned for years.

The only odd thing is when I started a thread last year, there was not a shuttle on standby for possible rescue. Suddenly there is. If the mission is that dangerous, why wasn't a shuttle on standby last year?

That's why they didn't do it last year - no backup. The article says the main worry is all the debris floating around at that altitude. You know, parts of ships, engines, a lunar module with Tom Hanks' autograph.... that stuff can cause a lot of damage to one little space shuttle.

(bbcode)

[edit on Mon May 11 2009 by Jbird]

Originally posted by 4N6310
Why do they allow so much junk to "clutter" the already crowded orbits?

I can see it now: Yeah, we have ships that can go into space now that we cracked the major hurdles, but there's this space debris issue we need to address before we can actually use the things safely.

I say we all pitch in, buy a space ship, stick a powerful electromagnet on it and go into the space junk cleaning business.

You could probably make a lot of cash, starting a space junk museum. "Here's an engine bell. That's a fuel tank. This is a computer from a lunar module. That's a piece of flash-frozen crap from a waste dump. We've got a lot of that last one for souvenirs in the gift shop."

Okay, I know it's a bit ridiculous... after all, flash-frozen crap would be non-magnetic.

Originally posted by jkrog08
reply to post by Max_TO

 

Agreed, that probably will be what forces the development of force fields. There are already some good small scale operational cool plasma force fields in the labs now.

Actually, I think force fields will be developed to prevent the Spice Girls from going on a reunion tour...


Mod Note: Please stay on Topic – Review This Link.

[edit on Mon May 11 2009 by Jbird]

I don't see anything dangerous about this mission. Hubble is nice but not amazing, should have just let it float up there, spend the $ on something else.

Originally posted by danielsil18
Wouldn't it be better to make an improved Hubble than to repair the old one?

When you car battery dies and a mirror cracks, do you get a new car or take it to a mechanic?

Same principle, except the mechanic has to fly into space to fix it. I wish mine was that dedicated....

Originally posted by Nightflyer28

Originally posted by danielsil18
Wouldn't it be better to make an improved Hubble than to repair the old one?

When you car battery dies and a mirror cracks, do you get a new car or take it to a mechanic?

Same principle, except the mechanic has to fly into space to fix it. I wish mine was that dedicated....

Your car doesn't possibly risk the lives of 2 space crews to get worked on so that doesn't fit. It also doesn't cost about the price of a new engine for your mechanic to fix a broken mirror on your car.

Just found a video from NASA at live leak showing a UFO.
Given date, yesterday, time, unknown.
Please Fast Forward it to 2:10.
www.youtube.com...

[edit on 11-5-2009 by Haunebu]

[edit on 11-5-2009 by Haunebu]

reply to post by whoshotJR


They learn so much on each and every mission.

While this one is important and cost effective in keeping the Hubble going, tie missions difficult nature will add a lot of experience to NASA - make way for developments in procedures etc... A lot of what they will do to the Hubble could directly translate to say a rescue mission to the international space station.

Originally posted by redhead57
Anyone know what a transducer is?

Is somthing that changes energy from one form to another like solar to electrical