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Images from India's First Space Shuttle Launch
- british_india 10y agoIt's a toy.
- SimplyJames 10y agoIt's a trap.
- mtmail 10y agoCan you elaborate? As the article says it may be small but it's still a huge milestone.
- british_india 10y agoNo concern for recovery. No concern for life support. It's a toy.
- gus_massa 10y agoBetter redaction: "The title is misleading. They are testing a scale model."
- Osiris30 10y agoYes, a toy. http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html http://www.paulgraham.com/organic.html http://www.paulgraham.com/organic.html
- bencollier49 10y agoIt's slightly shorter than the X-37. That's a toy too, right?
- ynniv 10y agoYes. The Space Shuttle was huge compared to both of those. It could carry them to orbit in the payload bay.
- dingaling 10y ago> The Space Shuttle was huge compared to both of those The Shuttle Orbiter was huge due to the DoD meddling in the design, but in all the wrong parameters. Certianly it could lift bulky payloads, but maximum inhabited on-orbit endurance was just 12 days. In contrast the X-37 returned after 470 days on-orbit.
- pravula 10y agoIt is a TD. Of course it is a toy (for the scientists to toy with design choices)
- FraaJad 10y agoThe commenter's name should alert you to obvious biases.
- jgrahamc 10y agoGo ISRO.
- apapli 10y ago"Astonishing"? I cannot stand click bait titles. Is there a browser plug in that replaces bait words with more bland words instead?
- smoyer 10y agoI'll bet there are "Ten things you won't believe about the ISRO" in that article.
- puranjay 10y agoI propose replacing all superlatives like "Astonishing, Amazing, Incredible" with words/phrases like "Kinda Okay, Somewhat Bearable, Will Entertain for 30 Seconds"
- mangamadaiyan 10y agoEven better, follow the scheme outlined here: http://xkcd.com/1679/ http://xkcd.com/1679/
- dang 10y agoWe debaited it.
- Malic 10y agoAnd Scott Manley will upload to YouTube a Kerbal Space Program simulation in 5...4...3...2...1...
- ascotan 10y agoExpecting to see people trying hitching a ride on the rocket. Was not disappointed.
- whistlerbrk 10y agoSpace junkies: what is the intended purpose of the shuttle given its size? It's not clear from the article.
- ajarmst 10y agoIt's a test bed. Likely a simpler/cheaper solution to the infrastructure for simulation, bench testing, aerodynamic testing, etc. that isn't as available in India as in the US. Clearly some marketing/PR value, as well. Edit - It also gives them an opportunity for all-up testing of mission communications, ground control, pad operations, etc. The US and USSR already had ample real experience with that by the time the Shuttle and ISS programs came around, but other countries do not.
- whistlerbrk 10y agoAhh, I suspect what you're saying about launch operations is much more valuable to them then testing of that vehicle. I'm guessing that a full sized model can only be truly tested in situ.
- ajarmst 10y agoWhile very interesting, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that wishes India (and all of humanity, really) success in its space program, this is a very long way from launching a crew-rated vehicle. Nor is the design particularly astonishing or a real technical advance (for that, the private space firms seem to be the ones moving forward). Yet another country trying to get humans to LEO, which we pretty much figured out a half-century ago, and then inexplicably stopped doing, just makes me sad. How about a real, concerted effort for crew-rated heavy lift that can escape Earth? That can escape Earth/Moon? That can provide crew life support for multi-month missions? You know, the stuff I was promised as a kid in the 60s?