5 ms·

The Expanse sci-fi novel series goes into this subject quite a lot. The people who live on and around the outer planets ("belters") are all said to have an ext

The Expanse sci-fi novel series goes into this subject quite a lot. The people who live on and around the outer planets ("belters") are all said to have an extreme fixation on ship maintenance, those who didn't having been "weeded out" of the gene pool by their negligence.

rbanffy 8y ago
The ones who don't carry duct tape will certainly be weeded out rather quickly.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  There's some kind of aircraft repair tape like duct tape, which is made with much stronger fibers and uses a much stronger adhesive. It's not called "aircraft tape," however. That's something else. A friend was telling me that there was a small hole in a submarine once found patched by the stuff. I try to carry 4 strips of medical tape stuck to the back of my emergency credit card. I think I have to check it and restock.
  - rbanffy 8y ago
    The one used in aircraft is called speed tape. It's thick aluminum foil and a high-grade adhesive and resists well to heat, some fire, and lots of wind. There's also one called "Gorilla tape", IIRC, that's like duct tape but much stronger. A submarine is subject to much higher pressure differentials than aircraft or spacecraft (and also from the wrong directions for easy repairs from the inside) and I wouldn't recommend relying on it for long. I'm not sure how speed tape would work if applied in a vacuum, but I guess most repairs like this would be done from the inside, under some pressurization. Speed tape would be better, but, if you have external thermal blankets over the hull, duct tape should do just fine. It's only 1 atmosphere, after all (0.25 if you can do pure oxygen). Eventually, when you stop by a proper facility, you'll want to do something more permanent (and fix the thermal blankets/external hull, because, if it was a micrometeorite that reached the pressurized part, there must be a hole there too).
    - stcredzero 8y ago
      A submarine is subject to much higher pressure differentials than aircraft or spacecraft (and also from the wrong directions for easy repairs from the inside) and I wouldn't recommend relying on it for long. The story was that the discovery was one of horror. Basically, it was a tragedy averted. Also, the tape was on the outside, but I forget the particulars.
      - rbanffy 8y ago
        I hope the crew knew about it and was ready to surface if it started leaking. Well... I guess submarine crews are a good model for astronauts in that they live surrounded by a lethal environment. The difference is that, if you venture outside low Earth orbit, you may be days away from safety, so an extra amount of zeal with improvised repairs may be warranted.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- polaritron 8y ago
  100MPH tape!
jacquesm 8y ago
That's fiction. That does not mean it could not be like that but it is just as believable as any other evidence free scenario sketched.
stcredzero 8y ago
The same trope was used by Heinlein in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and used to explain why the population of the Moon had a higher average IQ. The title of the novel is a reference to it.

rbanffy 8y ago

The ones who don't carry duct tape will certainly be weeded out rather quickly.

stcredzero 8y ago
There's some kind of aircraft repair tape like duct tape, which is made with much stronger fibers and uses a much stronger adhesive. It's not called "aircraft tape," however. That's something else. A friend was telling me that there was a small hole in a submarine once found patched by the stuff. I try to carry 4 strips of medical tape stuck to the back of my emergency credit card. I think I have to check it and restock.
- rbanffy 8y ago
  The one used in aircraft is called speed tape. It's thick aluminum foil and a high-grade adhesive and resists well to heat, some fire, and lots of wind. There's also one called "Gorilla tape", IIRC, that's like duct tape but much stronger. A submarine is subject to much higher pressure differentials than aircraft or spacecraft (and also from the wrong directions for easy repairs from the inside) and I wouldn't recommend relying on it for long. I'm not sure how speed tape would work if applied in a vacuum, but I guess most repairs like this would be done from the inside, under some pressurization. Speed tape would be better, but, if you have external thermal blankets over the hull, duct tape should do just fine. It's only 1 atmosphere, after all (0.25 if you can do pure oxygen). Eventually, when you stop by a proper facility, you'll want to do something more permanent (and fix the thermal blankets/external hull, because, if it was a micrometeorite that reached the pressurized part, there must be a hole there too).
  - stcredzero 8y ago
    A submarine is subject to much higher pressure differentials than aircraft or spacecraft (and also from the wrong directions for easy repairs from the inside) and I wouldn't recommend relying on it for long. The story was that the discovery was one of horror. Basically, it was a tragedy averted. Also, the tape was on the outside, but I forget the particulars.
    - rbanffy 8y ago
      I hope the crew knew about it and was ready to surface if it started leaking. Well... I guess submarine crews are a good model for astronauts in that they live surrounded by a lethal environment. The difference is that, if you venture outside low Earth orbit, you may be days away from safety, so an extra amount of zeal with improvised repairs may be warranted.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
polaritron 8y ago
100MPH tape!

jacquesm 8y ago

That's fiction. That does not mean it could not be like that but it is just as believable as any other evidence free scenario sketched.

stcredzero 8y ago

The same trope was used by Heinlein in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and used to explain why the population of the Moon had a higher average IQ. The title of the novel is a reference to it.