Space shuttle may need to be rescued

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=272762

Nine pieces of foam are thought to have broken away from the space shuttle during launch.

Three of them appear to have struck the shuttle but none are believed to have been big enough to cause serious damage.

NASA experts on Earth are analysing pictures of the shuttle's heat shield to assess the damage and determine if the astronauts will need to make a spacewalk to repair it.

If the damage cannot be fixed, the crew may have to wait at the space station for several months until a rescue shuttle can be launched.
more...
NASA seems to be having trouble after trouble
Stay Safe up there

[Selatius]

1. I've been saying it for several years now: Retire the fucking shuttle fleet permanently.

Safety first.

We are a nation that can spend 600+ billion on war. We have the largest economy on the planet. There is more than enough money to find a safer way to allow astronauts to do research in space. Are we so cheap that we'd rather risk the lives of astronauts than spend the money to make sure they're safe? Talk about penny wise and pound foolish.

[babylonsister]

4. We can't 'spare' anything because of the occupation, and that's the travesty.

I'm not a big proponent of some programs because others seem a lot more important to me, but you asked about risking lives of astronauts. It's been happening for about 5 years for all kinds of other people, so why should astronauts be any different?

[napi21]

2. Hmmm. Last I heard there was a 3" gash under one of the wings, and

they were going to check it with the robotic camera on Sunday. If it needed repaired, they would do that via a spacewalk. Where did this "need rescued" stuff come from?

[Lint Head]

3. Hey Georgie Porgie. What happened to that big ole trip to

Mars thing. I guess that was just a 'hey I'm fulla shit' remark. Right there ole Georgie boy? :dem:

[Kool Kitty]

9. What did Bill Maher call this on his last show,

the "let's-not-and-say-we-did" administration? Just another example that proves Bill's point.

[yowzayowzayowza]

5. Space.com disagrees?

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/070811_sts118_pmupdate.html

Posted about two hours ago:

Because the debris appears to be primarily made up of foam, and not denser ice as originally thought, mission managers are more confident that the damage inflicted is not be severe enough to require a spacewalk repair. But Shannon said Endeavour's astronaut crew will conduct an in-depth inspection of the tile damage Sunday to be sure.

:shrug:

[seemslikeadream]

6. Endeavour faces computer failure

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070022339

Sunday, August 12, 2007 (Washington)
NASA space shuttle Endeavour suffered some problems on Saturday, forcing astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Dave Williams to end their six-hour space walk.

According to the space agency, the primary US command-and-control computer on the station had suddenly shut down.

NASA engineers still do not know why the computer failed.

There was no word on whether it could be fixed or posed any long-term problem.

[LastDemocratInSC]

13. One of the 2 backup computers immediately took over control ... as planned

And the spacewalk was stopped early from what I can see. It was expected to run 6 hours and 30 minutes and the astronauts ended it at 6 hours 17 minutes after completing all assigned tasks.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. It's an antique piece of shit 70's era design. After all this time it's the

best we can do? What an utter embarrassment. Meanwhile we continue to beat people over the head with clubs & pray to Jesus. Civilization?

[The Sushi Bandit]

8. THIS IS BOGUS NEWS

Your source is krap!!

[lovuian]

10. it said IF the damage can't be fixed

I hope they can fix it

[libodem]

11. I tell you

(get your tin foil hat on) This administration hates the space program. There are not enough Repug Rocket Scientists to profit off the government. It detracts from the no-bid-contract racket game. Too much money not enough kick backs. The Space Program will never do well while they are in office and the astronauts are in danger because of it. I even think the diaper astronaut was played up to 'cast asparagus' at the competence of the personnel. Just thinkin'.

[Up2Late]

12. Oh PLEASE! More complete and total BULLSH*T from the "Big News Network!!!"

Why do you still post this crap? "Big News Network" is worse than Fox "news" for bogus headlines and sensationalized stories!

Please Stop.

We have been following this story in LBN for two days now, and it's not even close to being as bad as this POS article implies!

Here's the link: <http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2949280>

and here's the link to the "Big News Network's" "About" page: <http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/about.html>

And I'd love to know how the hell a website goes "on the air" and what the nutty cult is that runs this site, who would close down a site for one day so they could "...re-launch on March 3 2003. We chose this day as the third day, of the third month, of the third year, of the third millennium, an event that won't be repeated for another 1,000 years...." :crazy: :banghead::silly:

About Big News Network.com

Big News Network.com is a specialist online news service, constantly updating around 400 categories of news on an hourly basis.

Our news is collated from our own resources, major news originators, contracted services, localised sources, World class newspapers, government media, press releases, international and regional tv (cable & free-to-air) networks, radio stations, and official bodies.

We scan the World's media, select, and edit headlines for production on our network of news sites, and for distribution to the World Wide Web. We provide content for portals, and Web sites, spanning more than 80 countries.

Big News Network.com has been on-air since 1998, however a substantial upgrading of our search and software resources over the past two years, saw the site re-launch on March 3 2003. We chose this day as the third day, of the third month, of the third year, of the third millennium, an event that won't be repeated for another 1,000 years.

We provide breaking news on all key topics, and independent services for most key countries and cities. In important topics such as Health, Internet, Technology, Sport, and of course Business & Finance, we have created numerous sub-categories to ensure we cater for as wide a user-base as possible.

We are incorporated in the United Arab Emirates. Our main offices are in Sydney, Australia. You can contact us using our online form , or telephone [phone], or fax [phone].

We trust you will enjoy,and benefit from our site, and will come to rely on it for the latest breaking news in any, and every category in which you have an interest.