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Russian Scientists Announce Six-Month Delay In Carving New Space Station http://www.theonion.com/article/russian-scientists-announce-six-month-delay-in-car-547

Russian Scientists Announce Six-Month Delay In Carving New Space Station http://www.theonion.com/article/russian-scientists-announce-six-month-delay-in-car-547 http://www.theonion.com/article/russian-scientists-announce-...

venomsnake 10y ago
Since properly treated wood is becoming acceptable skyscraper structural material this as well may be a foot meet mouth article couple of years down the road. And if it is stupid and it works, than it is not stupid.
- sliverstorm 10y ago
  There's an ongoing back-and-forth between russian and american space program. Exemplified by the tale about how america spent millions of dollars developing a pen that writes in space, while russians simply used pencils. On it's surface you think, silly americans! Supposedly though, americans expressly rejected pencils, because graphite fragments could get caught in critical places (remember it's electrically conductive!) So we are left with the very cheap, probably perfectly functional approach. And the extremely expensive, objectively most safe approach. Which wraps up what I understand as a core difference between the two programs nicely.
  - delazeur 10y ago
    Except that the space pens were developed with private funds and the Soviets bought the same pens from the same manufacturer. There are some interesting philosophical differences between the programs, but "the Russians jerry-rigged everything while the Americans used careful and conscientious engineering" isn't one of them.
    - sliverstorm 10y ago
      Yes, I know it's not accurate, which is why I called it a tale. Neither was I saying russians jerry-rigged everything. What it does seem, is they used more simplifying approaches to control costs & complexity (possibly at the cost of some amount of additional risk)
      - nickik 10y ago
        Its always funny that people talk about how the US reduces risk by complexity but in reality the Space Shuttle was the unsafest vehicle ever, and caused the most deaths. Not to mention how expensive this overly complex design was. Even when the built a space plane (for political reasons) they had the good sense to make it unmanned (in the beginning) and to not put the main engines on the vehicle itself. The also design in a ground abort system.
        sliverstorm 10y ago
        Yes, the problem with complexity is eventually you go too far and the complexity makes it worse.
- stcredzero 10y ago
  The Chinese made a heat shield out of oak: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14619738-300-space-oddities/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14619738-300-space-od...
  - delazeur 10y ago
    I believe that Mercury/Gemini heat shields included cork and/or balsa wood.

venomsnake 10y ago

Since properly treated wood is becoming acceptable skyscraper structural material this as well may be a foot meet mouth article couple of years down the road. And if it is stupid and it works, than it is not stupid.

sliverstorm 10y ago
There's an ongoing back-and-forth between russian and american space program. Exemplified by the tale about how america spent millions of dollars developing a pen that writes in space, while russians simply used pencils. On it's surface you think, silly americans! Supposedly though, americans expressly rejected pencils, because graphite fragments could get caught in critical places (remember it's electrically conductive!) So we are left with the very cheap, probably perfectly functional approach. And the extremely expensive, objectively most safe approach. Which wraps up what I understand as a core difference between the two programs nicely.
- delazeur 10y ago
  Except that the space pens were developed with private funds and the Soviets bought the same pens from the same manufacturer. There are some interesting philosophical differences between the programs, but "the Russians jerry-rigged everything while the Americans used careful and conscientious engineering" isn't one of them.
  - sliverstorm 10y ago
    Yes, I know it's not accurate, which is why I called it a tale. Neither was I saying russians jerry-rigged everything. What it does seem, is they used more simplifying approaches to control costs & complexity (possibly at the cost of some amount of additional risk)
    - nickik 10y ago
      Its always funny that people talk about how the US reduces risk by complexity but in reality the Space Shuttle was the unsafest vehicle ever, and caused the most deaths. Not to mention how expensive this overly complex design was. Even when the built a space plane (for political reasons) they had the good sense to make it unmanned (in the beginning) and to not put the main engines on the vehicle itself. The also design in a ground abort system.
      - sliverstorm 10y ago
        Yes, the problem with complexity is eventually you go too far and the complexity makes it worse.
stcredzero 10y ago
The Chinese made a heat shield out of oak: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14619738-300-space-oddities/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14619738-300-space-od...
- delazeur 10y ago
  I believe that Mercury/Gemini heat shields included cork and/or balsa wood.