Space tech heading in reverse

August 13 - CNN - Two astronauts are set to swap out a faulty gyroscope on the International Space Station, while NASA engineers weigh whether the crew of Endeavour should tackle some dangerous damage found on the shuttle's belly this week.

A chunk of insulating foam broke off a fuel tank during launch last week, striking the shuttle and leaving a nine-centimeter gouge in the thermal shielding on its underside...

...

Seriously, can we get just one single Space Shuttle flight without something falling off... cracking... failing... exploding... etc.??

The very first Space Shuttle launched over twenty-five years ago! And it went fine. Does that mean they were lying back then, or has American space tech actually regressed?

Then Americans act surprised when the Russians nonchalantly plant their flag at the bottom of the North Pole and casually announce they're moving in to start extracting resources!

wearycobra74 said:August 13 - CNN - Two astronauts are set to swap out a faulty gyroscope on the International Space Station, while NASA engineers weigh whether the crew of Endeavour should tackle some dangerous damage found on the shuttle's belly this week.

A chunk of insulating foam broke off a fuel tank during launch last week, striking the shuttle and leaving a nine-centimeter gouge in the thermal shielding on its underside...

...

Seriously, can we get just one single Space Shuttle flight without something falling off... cracking... failing... exploding... etc.??

The very first Space Shuttle launched over twenty-five years ago! And it went fine. Does that mean they were lying back then, or has American space tech actually regressed?

Then Americans act surprised when the Russians nonchalantly plant their flag at the bottom of the North Pole and casually announce they're moving in to start extracting resources!

.. leveraging Norwegian tech (submarines, cameras, etc.). 😁

I mean, why don't Americans just use Norwegian tech for space stuff instead? 😬

It’s a good thing their scientists finally figured out the big secret of electricity—you know, how current actually travels through a wire. 😁

So, they managed to hook up to the orbital station for the first time, which is why they're staying an extra 3 days, rather than it being because of some thermal shield issue:
"...Mission managers decided Sunday to extend The STS-118 Mission by Three Days. The decision came after The successful operation of The New Station-to-Shuttle Power transfer system..." (link)

Yeah, Americans are still relying on the Space Shuttle, even though it’s been 26 years since that very first launch. And let's not forget, we lost two of them along the way.
It really feels like the idea that the Space Shuttle could be reused for multiple missions didn't actually save us much money compared to using single-use rockets. If anything, the real impact was more about Cold War propaganda and pushing technological boundaries forward.
It seems like we're slowly reaching the point where it's time to retire the Space Shuttle and finally innovate something new in space tech. Who knows? Maybe a return to the Moon, or perhaps even a trip to Mars?

They’re designing a successor to the Space Shuttle - Orion Kinda wild that they're using tech from the Saturn era just to get back into orbit instead of building something even more insane than the Shuttle...

Honestly, what's even the point of building these massive spaceships if we haven't even cracked the code on propulsion systems that can actually get us to habitable planets? This new Orion is pretty cool and all, but let's be real—it's nothing special, just enough to give astronauts a fun ride to Mars and back.

The bottom line is that nobody seems to take space exploration seriously anymore...
It’s all just about maintaining prestige and nothing else...

We’d much rather blow hundreds of billions on an LSD trip disguised as the "War on Terror"..

We’re basically driving in reverse here. The whole space program is a total train wreck. The only thing they actually get right is launching satellites, but these Space Shuttles? Absolute disaster waiting to happen. Honestly, it's just a matter of when the next one decides to blow up during takeoff or landing. I really thought that once we hit the moon and got the first Space Shuttle flying, we'd be looking at landing on Mars or building lunar bases next. Instead, it feels like we're further away from those goals than we were back in '69. Makes you wonder why, right? Guess that old-school race between nations just isn't a thing anymore.

Lately, the only ones making noise are the Chinese, since they're actually putting some serious work into their space program and seeing results. I hear they'll be sending their first person up pretty soon, though I wouldn't hold my breath for much else beyond that for a while. They'll be the third nation to put a human in orbit, and it's taken them 50 YEARS since Gagarin did it. I figured things would move a lot faster than this.😢
So yeah... maybe in another 50 years, Europe will finally get someone into orbit. By then, my grandkids might be watching a landing on Mars. Not me, though.😬

Europe has been sending its astronauts out into space for ages now, though they usually hitch a ride on American ships. 😁

It would be best if these Americans just left that Space Shuttle docked at the station and headed back using the good old Soyuz; it’s much safer that way.

The Chinese have already launched their first astronaut. They used their Shenzhou spacecraft, which looks remarkably similar to the Soyuz.

Honestly, even by today's standards—if you just apply a bit of common sense and a little bit of smart investment—there is an incredible amount of potential waiting for us out in space... I mean, provided we can actually figure out how to shield astronauts from radiation over the long haul (that's the big hurdle, isn't it?)... But it feels like either the willpower just isn't there, or perhaps it’s just not in anyone's best interest to turn space into the next great frontier for profit...

wearycobra74 said:August 13 - CNN - Two astronauts are set to swap out a faulty gyroscope on the International Space Station, while NASA engineers weigh whether the crew of Endeavour should tackle some dangerous damage found on the shuttle's belly this week.

A chunk of insulating foam broke off a fuel tank during launch last week, striking the shuttle and leaving a nine-centimeter gouge in the thermal shielding on its underside...

...

Seriously, can we get just one single Space Shuttle flight without something falling off... cracking... failing... exploding... etc.??

The very first Space Shuttle launched over twenty-five years ago! And it went fine. Does that mean they were lying back then, or has American space tech actually regressed?

Then Americans act surprised when the Russians nonchalantly plant their flag at the bottom of the North Pole and casually announce they're moving in to start extracting resources!

Back in the 1960s, folks were predicting that within 30 years, a fifth (20%) of the entire world population would be living on the Moon and other space stations or colonies...
It was this massive space race between the Russians and the Americans to see who’d hit the Moon first...
Both militaries, the American and the Russian ones, poured money into the space programs...
And most importantly, they had MASSIVE PUBLIC SUPPORT...

Once we landed on the Moon and realized there definitely wasn't any life on Mars, the public hype just totally fizzled out...

As the USSR collapsed and went broke, its space program fell apart too...
America and its military stopped being so generous, and suddenly, flying into space became almost totally boring to everyone...

Angela Murphy68 said:Honestly, even by today's standards—if you just apply a bit of common sense and a little bit of smart investment—there is an incredible amount of potential waiting for us out in space... I mean, provided we can actually figure out how to shield astronauts from radiation over the long haul (that's the big hurdle, isn't it?)... But it feels like either the willpower just isn't there, or perhaps it’s just not in anyone's best interest to turn space into the next great frontier for profit...

Space was always a political playground. Back when it served those specific interests, the money poured in. Science benefited immensely, but unfortunately—for many people, myself included—removing politics from space programs led to the only logical outcome: much smaller budgets. Our scientific understanding and technological capabilities are practically limitless right now. There isn't anything we can't dream up, design, and build. It really just comes down to how much an "investor" is willing to shell out.

K-pax said:And communism didn't exactly fare any better.

Who's out here claiming communism failed because it couldn't cure death by starvation?

That's why it died off—it just got bogged down by sheer laziness. 🤣

Doesn't matter now, though, since capitalism is busy fighting them anyway. 👍

Anyway, GMOs are going to solve everything now...😬

Oh yeah, thanks for the reminder! Now capitalism is just gonna genetically engineer humans so they don't have to worry about those 30 million people dying of hunger every year, and then capitalism will definitely be the most successful social system in history.
😬
Oops, my bad—looks like that genetic modification already happened.
😵

When two brothers reach an agreement, you can bet the facts are on their side. I wonder who still gets worked up over this whole space obsession today? It seems like nowadays, it's just the Russians who are still fixated on it, along with those inevitable Russophiles! 😂 😂 😂

goldentrucker17 said:And those are just the facts.

Honestly, tell me what the Russians have actually contributed to the world that we can still benefit from regarding all this powerful space technology? I know exactly what NASA has provided us, but I'm struggling to see what Russia has given to the global community.🤔 🤔 🤔

I mean, honestly, every single part of it was probably manufactured in Taiwan!!!👍

goldenmason172 said:Honestly, tell me what the Russians have actually contributed to the world that we can still benefit from regarding all this powerful space technology? I know exactly what NASA has provided us, but I'm struggling to see what Russia has given to the global community.🤔 🤔 🤔

You barely manage to scrape together two sentences before you end up tripping over your own feet and contradicting yourself anyway.
You really don't think there's any actual benefit to all this "space technology"? I mean, come on. You know damn well what NASA has handed down to us.
The Russians have had an operational space station—the Mir—up there for 30 years now, and honestly, it’s basically the backbone of today's International Space Station. If it wasn't for that Russian tech, we wouldn't even have the regular communication or the crew rotations on the ISS that we see happening today. It's all built on that foundation.

So, tell me this—when some billionaire decides they’re finally ready to blast off into space, who exactly are they supposed to call? Do they just ring up the USA? Or maybe try their luck with the European Union? Honestly, I can only imagine the ridiculous nonsense people have to explain over and over again on this Forum. It's exhausting.

goldentrucker17 said:You barely manage to scrape together two sentences before you end up tripping over your own feet and contradicting yourself anyway.
You really don't think there's any actual benefit to all this "space technology"? I mean, come on. You know damn well what NASA has handed down to us.
The Russians have had an operational space station—the Mir—up there for 30 years now, and honestly, it’s basically the backbone of today's International Space Station. If it wasn't for that Russian tech, we wouldn't even have the regular communication or the crew rotations on the ISS that we see happening today. It's all built on that foundation.

So, tell me this—when some billionaire decides they’re finally ready to blast off into space, who exactly are they supposed to call? Do they just ring up the USA? Or maybe try their luck with the European Union? Honestly, I can only imagine the ridiculous nonsense people have to explain over and over again on this Forum. It's exhausting.

Exactly, a rich guy going to space. That's the thing—they turn to Russia because Russians are always looking for a payday. NASA doesn't need their help.🤣 🤣 🤣.