Got time to kill?

[ESokoloff]

http://mashable.com/2010/12/11/nasa-youtube-shuttle-launch/

[EddyQ]

45 minutes of awsome stuff.

 

Thanks Eric!

[notacop]

I see the Russians have launched another crew up into space to the space station on a cold wintry morning.

Morton Thiokol made sure we couldn't launch unless it was 85 degrees and NASA doesn't fly unless the conditions are perfect.

Dang Russians launch with the equivalent of a Steam locomotive and with all our fancy expensive science we are grounding our fleet of space buses.

The listed link is a nice example of what we've lost, not what we've built on. That was the America that was....

[EddyQ]

I think I'd much rather land with our technology than land in a rock pile this hard.

See this link: linky

[notacop]

I'm not sure the parachuting onto the surface of the ocean is that much different from landing on a plowed field. Water is fairly unyielding surface when approached at speed. Ever skip a stone on a lake? Go do a belly flop from the high dive. And in water, on can always sink and drown. Isn't that comforting?

The design costs of not involving flotation devices and water recovery are enormous. The plowed field isn't subject to heaving and pitching either. Both countries have figured out how to land in a prescribed space.

That's why we are settling into a 'let them do the launches' mode'.

[ESokoloff]

That's why we are settling into a 'let them do the launches' mode'.

Dont count on that.

As you may have heard, Congress just recently passed the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, setting a new direction for human space exploration. The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to authorize funding for a robust and viable U.S. space program. This is a critical step forward, which will allow America to continue to lead the way in space exploration.

 

The bill sets NASA on an exciting course to focus on exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, while recognizing the valuable role American companies are ready to undertake in ending our reliance on Russia to carry our astronauts to the International Space Station.

[ESokoloff]

45 minutes of awsome stuff.

 

 

Just 45 minutes?

You got off easy.

I was sucked in for over an hour rewinding & dissecting the footage

[flars]

The Russian lander has retro rockets that fire just before impact. That is what causes the big cloud of dust, not the impact.

[EddyQ]

The Russian lander has retro rockets that fire just before impact. That is what causes the big cloud of dust, not the impact.

 

Ah. It did look like an amazing hit that nobody would walk away from.