Space Things

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by bcj

What a bunch of soft nellies. Back in the day, we'd just light a match.

I think it would be quite difficult to actually light a match in microgravity since you don't have convection. You'd need a fan to move oxygen into contact with the combustible material. And that part is broken .

[Lantanafrs2]

I was unable to see the launch but a few friends were able to view it. They're slightly north of me in Jupiter and fort pierce.

[wbradley]

It's just funny how people are so oblivious to humans getting back to the moon despite the web.
As a 5 year old in 1969, I sure as heck was watching it on our black amd white tv. I guess that same crowd is oblivious to wars going on too, except at the gas pump. Heads buried in who know what.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by wbradley

It's just funny how people are so oblivious to humans getting back to the moon despite the web.
As a 5 year old in 1969, I sure as heck was watching it on our black amd white tv. I guess that same crowd is oblivious to wars going on too, except at the gas pump. Heads buried in who know what.

I was a serious space kid in the '60s.

When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon I was sitting on the floor of my Grandparent's house with my Revell 3ft tall Saturn V and my Gulf paper Lunar Module with me. I must have put about 20 of those Lunar Modules together. I still have one of the unmolested sheets and the instructions.

[blsfrs]

It's rather sad that the Epstein files still get more attention than the Moon mission.

[Dadhawk]

From Artemis II.

[Sapphireho]

I don't get why they are just doing a fly by? We landed on that rock several times when I was a child with nothing but slide rules and pencils. I'm an old man now. Did someone spill coffee on the notes or something?

Funny how they show the "cramped" quarters of the monkeys on the flight. They have a bathroom, sauna, gym, hot tub, and pickle ball court. The capsule of Apollo 11 was 12' diameter.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I don't get why they are just doing a fly by? We landed on that rock several times when I was a child with nothing but slide rules and pencils. I'm an old man now. Did someone spill coffee on the notes or something?

Funny how they show the "cramped" quarters of the monkeys on the flight. They have a bathroom, sauna, gym, hot tub, and pickle ball court. The capsule of Apollo 11 was 12' diameter.

And they had to walk up hill both ways...

Believe it or not, experience dies with time. People who know how to do stuff move on, forget, die, etc.

Then you have a problem where all the parts that were commonly available in the past are no longer produced and there's nobody with the expertise to build/maintain those parts even if they were recommissioned. Artemis is having to start from a completely different base than Apollo.

So while it seems we have done the same or similar mission before, the technology and people that supports it is all brand new. Which means you need to test it.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Spuds

And they had to walk up hill both ways...

Believe it or not, experience dies with time. People who know how to do stuff move on, forget, die, etc.

Then you have a problem where all the parts that were commonly available in the past are no longer produced and there's nobody with the expertise to build/maintain those parts even if they were recommissioned. Artemis is having to start from a completely different base than Apollo.

So while it seems we have done the same or similar mission before, the technology and people that supports it is all brand new. Which means you need to test it.

So they did spill coffee on the notes.,...

[wbradley]

Processes are done a lot differently today than in the 1960's. The research and designs from back then worked, but even if they were to build an exact replica of a Saturn V, the means with which to achieve that would be entirely different. And obviously, over 50 years later you cannot leverage the skill of the people who did it before. But what they can do is achieve far more in a much shorter timeframe without introducing high levels of risk associated with being in a race, as they were in the 60's.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

So they did spill coffee on the notes.,...

Sure

[blsfrs]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Processes are done a lot differently today than in the 1960's. The research and designs from back then worked, but even if they were to build an exact replica of a Saturn V, the means with which to achieve that would be entirely different. And obviously, over 50 years later you cannot leverage the skill of the people who did it before. But what they can do is achieve far more in a much shorter timeframe without introducing high levels of risk associated with being in a race, as they were in the 60's.

Didn't they see the movie "Space Cowboys"? Just go find some of the old guys that went to space in the 60's. They could make it work.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I don't get why they are just doing a fly by? We landed on that rock several times when I was a child with nothing but slide rules and pencils. I'm an old man now. Did someone spill coffee on the notes or something?

True answer, it's a different type of mission. Apollo was focused on 2 guys and an LEM (and later an EV) landing, looking around and coming back.

Artemis is aimed at the next step we should have been doing in the 80s. Developing a sustainable moon port, with originally a moon space station. The new "Ignite" program changed that to a moon base.

So, the original timeline didn't have us having a lander yet. It also doesn't help that SpaceX can't get it's act together enough to actually create an orbital version of Starship. Now it's testing is held up by Musk trying to become a trillionaire (SpaceX IPO).

The new "Ignite" plan has NASA focused on getting back to the surface, abandoning the moon space station for now, and doing lunar lander testings in 2027 (with either SpaceX or Blue Origin or both) then going to landings in 2028 (which I think is unlikely).

The biggest holdup is funding though, and changing priorities over the last 50 or so years. NASA's funding is a triffle now to what it was in the 60s.

[Lantanafrs2]

I wonder if they spotted any Chinese helium mines?