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Okay here is some more pictures of my visit to The KSC I just put them in a imgur album to make it easier. If anybody wants some info on the photos just let me know and I'll do my best to answer. I got to do pretty much everything there except the tour where you get to go up to the historic launch pads so I will have to do that next time. http://imgur.com/a/4a0GU
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Mar 19, 2012 16:52
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Another win for the TSA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNO-AzPxS4U&feature=youtu.be drat terrists don't know where to stop. Using a toddler in a wheelchair? Dirty. Preoptopus fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Mar 19, 2012 |
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Mar 19, 2012 17:49
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Swabbing the toddler's hands with an ion sniffer to see if he's been handling explosives?  Remember, you're paying that guy's salary.
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Mar 19, 2012 19:58
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Sagebrush posted:Swabbing the toddler's hands with an ion sniffer to see if he's been handling explosives? This is nothing new, they did that to my son in 2003 when he was 3. TSA has been loving retarded since day 1.
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Mar 19, 2012 20:51
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Godholio posted:This is nothing new, they did that to my son in 2003 when he was 3. TSA has been loving retarded since day 1. You have a kid?  (honestly surprised, I had pegged you a bit younger) Interior shots of VAB  I really want to see it in person.
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Mar 19, 2012 21:29
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Playing devil's advocate here, but what if a terrorist had hidden explosives in that wheelchair, figuring that TSA would never suspect a kid like that? Drug traffickers have certainly done far worse.
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Mar 19, 2012 21:41
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grover posted:Playing devil's advocate here, but what if a terrorist had hidden explosives in that wheelchair, figuring that TSA would never suspect a kid like that? Drug traffickers have certainly done far worse. What if a terrorist posing as a drug dealer hired a poor Colombian woman to be a "drug mule", but the balloon of cocaine she stuck up her rear end was actually remote detonated C4? And when she got pulled away by the TSA and reported to ICE and the FBI, it blew up as that was the plan all along? ...hang on, let me call Tom Clancy.
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Mar 19, 2012 21:46
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grover posted:Playing devil's advocate here, but what if a terrorist had hidden explosives in that wheelchair, figuring that TSA would never suspect a kid like that? Drug traffickers have certainly done far worse. Then it would be the very first time a TSA agent has ever caught someone trying to smuggle explosives through an airport security checkpoint. I always like to link people to this article because it shows quite clearly how every single one of the security measures put in place since 9/11 (except reinforced cockpit doors, those were a good idea) provides no real security and can be subverted by any average idiot. If someone really wanted to blow up a plane, they don't need to hide bombs inside children's wheelchairs -- they could just get a job working on the tarmac and have someone huck a backpack bag full of explosives over the fence. It's a multibillion dollar program that has failed in the most spectacular manner: the airport screeners are no more likely to catch a terrorist than they were before, but the illusion of increased security means that no one can ever de-fund it, while the only people being inconvenienced are toddlers and the elderly and other zero-threat average citizens. [e] Nebakenezzer posted:The Apollo module is so frickin' tiny. Also, the SR-71 and the Saturn 5: two of the great engineering feats of the twentieth century. Were they designed entirely by slide rules or were some computers involved? I like to think of it as "three men living in about as much space as there is inside an SUV, but with one little porthole." Fun. And I'm fairly sure that there were early computers involved in the design of the SR-71, but I don't know about the Saturn V. Have to ask Dr. von Braun. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Mar 19, 2012 |
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Mar 19, 2012 21:56
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Gunbus posted:Okay here is some more pictures of my visit to The KSC I just put them in a imgur album to make it easier. If anybody wants some info on the photos just let me know and I'll do my best to answer. I got to do pretty much everything there except the tour where you get to go up to the historic launch pads so I will have to do that next time. The Apollo module is so frickin' tiny. Also, the SR-71 and the Saturn 5: two of the great engineering feats of the twentieth century. Were they designed entirely by slide rules or were some computers involved?
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Mar 19, 2012 21:57
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Sagebrush posted:I like to think of it as "three men living in about as much space as there is inside an SUV, but with one little porthole." Fun. I was under the impression it was a lot smaller, but it's 218 cubic feet, while an Escalade is only only 172 cubic feet. Edit: imagine spending a week in the back of a Ford E-150 rapevan (238 cubic feet) with three other dudes. Cocoa Crispies fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Mar 19, 2012 |
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Mar 19, 2012 22:05
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No way the interior space in an Apollo capsule is as large as a Rapevan. Would be closer to the cab of a light pickup, I think. Is that 218 cubic feet including cargo bins and the like?
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Mar 19, 2012 22:19
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How much space is there when the lunar module is connected? At least on the way to the moon they'd have two "rooms", right?
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Mar 19, 2012 22:24
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Sagebrush posted:Then it would be the very first time a TSA agent has ever caught someone trying to smuggle explosives through an airport security checkpoint. Every time I fly I play a little game I like to call "If I was a bad guy..." Every time there's usually at least 2 or 3 clear vulnerabilities I identify in addition to the standard ones everyone knows about...and that's not even beginning to address the issues with the non-passenger scenarios like the flightline worker/backpack hucker one you postulated. And even THAT assumes we are talking about striking an aircraft as opposed to just targeting a ticket counter or (if you are a bad guy with a sense of irony) the usually extremely long queue before the security checkpoint. In short the TSA are easily the most incompetent government agency out there, and as someone who works for an arm of the government that is easily in the top 10 if not the top 5 of that list, that's really saying something. Regarding Apollo, I'm guessing that is including storage lockers and the like, and also remember that there was the "passageway" (I use the term loosely) leading to the docking tunnel area, which would add a little bit.
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Mar 19, 2012 23:40
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Nebakenezzer posted:The Apollo module is so frickin' tiny. Imagine spending 14 DAYS in this with one of your colleagues: http://imgur.com/a/4a0GU#5 ala Gemini 7 The Apollo command module would be like a palace!
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Mar 20, 2012 00:17
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Styles Bitchley posted:Imagine spending 14 DAYS in this with one of your colleagues: Jesus God  14 days going around the earth in a Miata.
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Mar 20, 2012 01:19
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grover posted:No way the interior space in an Apollo capsule is as large as a Rapevan. Would be closer to the cab of a light pickup, I think. Is that 218 cubic feet including cargo bins and the like? There's a substantial amount of space behind/under the seats. It wasn't roomy, but it was nowhere near as cramped as that picture makes it look. 
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Mar 20, 2012 01:41
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He wasn't up there that long but it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of room in there either. 
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Mar 20, 2012 01:52
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Sagebrush posted:How much space is there when the lunar module is connected? At least on the way to the moon they'd have two "rooms", right? IIRC, they usually didn't access the lunar module in flight. It requires more power to heat that space. And leaves you open to more places that could be punctured en route. That said.. they did use it as a lifeboat. once. Yes, Apollo was built using slide rules.
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Mar 20, 2012 02:03
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Space Gopher posted:There's a substantial amount of space behind/under the seats. It wasn't roomy, but it was nowhere near as cramped as that picture makes it look. Can you actually access that space though, or is it just sitting back their taunting you? It doesn't look like you could even get out of the seat to me.
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Mar 20, 2012 02:13
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dissss posted:Can you actually access that space though, or is it just sitting back their taunting you? It doesn't look like you could even get out of the seat to me. As I understand it, that's where they'd store stuff like provisions, moon rocks and the like. Basically, a space trunk.
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Mar 20, 2012 02:22
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Styles Bitchley posted:Imagine spending 14 DAYS in this with one of your colleagues: I loved an interview I saw with Lovell and he was reminiscing about Gemini 7 and how finally after about 6 or 7 days Frank Borman told him he couldn't hold it anymore and had to take a huge poo poo. Jim said "Dammit Frank, can't you just hold on a bit longer??!!"
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Mar 20, 2012 03:43
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Ill throw in my photos from when I was interning at NASA. Facebook link because im too lazy to reexport and rehost all the photos. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.435982560773.219840.778850773&type=3&l=f718231ccd
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Mar 20, 2012 03:58
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dissss posted:Can you actually access that space though, or is it just sitting back their taunting you? It doesn't look like you could even get out of the seat to me. I'm fairly certain that the seats could collapse and fold out of the way, since you obviously don't need them for most of the trip. In this video you can see that while it's small, there's a fair bit of space inside, and the seats are up in the narrowest part of the capsule so photos of that area are a bit misleading. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fs8gkiap6U I gotta watch Apollo 13 again, now. And The Right Stuff.
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Mar 20, 2012 04:16
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dissss posted:Can you actually access that space though, or is it just sitting back their taunting you? It doesn't look like you could even get out of the seat to me. Yes. In fact, the navigator's station (complete with flight controls) is down there in what looks like the footwell from the perspective of someone sitting in one of the crew couches. With the lack of room in there, they couldn't afford to make a bunch of volume into nothing but a cargo compartment. As far as getting in and out of the couches goes, weightlessness would make things easier, and there's always the "you get to go to the loving moon" thing motivating you as well.
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Mar 20, 2012 04:30
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Sadi posted:Ill throw in my photos from when I was interning at NASA. Facebook link because im too lazy to reexport and rehost all the photos. This is pretty dang awesome.
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Mar 20, 2012 07:51
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Sadi posted:Ill throw in my photos from when I was interning at NASA. Facebook link because im too lazy to reexport and rehost all the photos. You are a good photographer. Thanks for posting those.
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Mar 20, 2012 16:28
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Sadi posted:Ill throw in my photos from when I was interning at NASA. Facebook link because im too lazy to reexport and rehost all the photos. What is aerogel?
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Mar 20, 2012 16:47
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Nebakenezzer posted:What is aerogel?
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Mar 20, 2012 17:01
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Nebakenezzer posted:What is aerogel? It's a really interesting class of compounds where you start with a gel, and you evaporate the liquid component while leaving the solid component in-state. You wind up with this solid structure that's barely denser than air, has enormous surface area, and is almost entirely impervious to heat. They're commonly made from silica gels, and NASA uses them for insulation, but they can be made from ceramics, carbon, all sorts of starters.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHnen2nSmDY
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Mar 20, 2012 17:04
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Phanatic posted:It's a really interesting class of compounds where you start with a gel, and you evaporate the liquid component while leaving the solid component in-state. You wind up with this solid structure that's barely denser than air, has enormous surface area, and is almost entirely impervious to heat. They're commonly made from silica gels, and NASA uses them for insulation, but they can be made from ceramics, carbon, all sorts of starters. Pretty much. IIRC 1cm^3 has the same surface area as a football field. Aerogels made from carbon are how they are making those new super crazy super capacitors.
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Mar 20, 2012 17:06
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Is manufacturing just insanely expensive? It seems like the posterchild for amazing space tech that could do wonders on Earth. Why are houses and cars not full of this stuff?
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Mar 20, 2012 17:13
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Godholio posted:Is manufacturing just insanely expensive? It seems like the posterchild for amazing space tech that could do wonders on Earth. Why are houses and cars not full of this stuff?
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Mar 20, 2012 17:30
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grover posted:Until a few weeks ago, it was the lightest substance on earth Well, that's a hell of a hook. What is it now?
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Mar 20, 2012 17:41
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Godholio posted:Is manufacturing just insanely expensive? More or less. The big deal is removing the liquid solvent from the gel, you can't just put it in an oven and dry it out, because then the forces exerted on the structure as the solvent moves through as it converts from a liquid to a gas action will collapse the gel. So, basically, they have to put the lump of gel in a pressure chamber filled with the same solvent, and crank the pressure/temperature so that the solvent exists in a supercritical state. Then you can draw off the solvent without it ever going through a liquid->gas conversion, there's not really a difference between the two states above that supercritical point. That's pretty simplified, but the bottom line is that up until recently you've been limited to a batch process where the size of your pressure vessel limits how much aerogel you can make in a batch. There are some new ones that have carbon nanotubes integrated into the solid structure, and those can be freeze-dried, but it's still not a simple process.
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Mar 20, 2012 17:42
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grover posted:It's about $50 per cubic inch, unfortunately. With rather limits its use to niche applications. That and its super delicate. Dont get me wrong, its strong for its weight but in any sort of dynamic application it would probably be broken down by vibrations.
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Mar 20, 2012 18:00
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Sadi posted:Ill throw in my photos from when I was interning at NASA. Facebook link because im too lazy to reexport and rehost all the photos. You had the best intern job. I'm insanely jealous.
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Mar 20, 2012 18:09
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Phy posted:Well, that's a hell of a hook. What is it now?  It's pretty cool stuff. They make it by building a polymer lattice using rapid prototyping techniques, coat it all with a super-thin layer of nickle, and then dissolve all the polymer.
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Mar 20, 2012 18:09
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Wow, cool! Sounds like good stuff to make airships with  I kinda figured the cost, though. In Sadi's photos, it's coming out of a tin that model paint could come out of.
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Mar 20, 2012 18:10
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Nebakenezzer posted:Wow, cool! Sounds like good stuff to make airships with Haha, we actually had a 5 gallon bucket full of it. I just didnt need more for my experiments. It was seriously the most fun ive had in my life at a job. I want to get back in there full time so bad it hurts.
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Mar 20, 2012 18:43
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If you're a decent machinist (to make the supercritical drying equipment) and can come up with a good enough reason to buy the precursor chemicals, you can make aerogel at home, actually. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X24np30GS2o
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Mar 20, 2012 21:43
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