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Is there need for an escape vehicle? Just tethering it to the ISS in case of an emergency could work. Who'd fly it down? Would it get damaged just sitting in sp
by adrianwaj 15y ago
Is there need for an escape vehicle? Just tethering it to the ISS in case of an emergency could work. Who'd fly it down? Would it get damaged just sitting in space? How long can it be left powered down awaiting an emergency so it doesn't malfunction? How could it be accessed quickly in an emergency? How could it be disposed-of eventually? What's the likelihood of an emergency?
- Zak 15y agoThe ISS keeps a Soyuz docked for use as an escape vehicle. It is very likely better suited to that purpose than a shuttle. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_(spacecraft) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_(spacecraft)
- burgerbrain 15y agoExactly. The Shuttle is so incredibly ill-suited for that task that I'd wager the ISS would make a better escape vehicle from the Shuttle than the other way around. Soyuz crafts on the other hand are bloody brilliant at the job. Their modern reentry safety record is unparalleled.
- adrianwaj 15y agoHave fun re-entering on the ISS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab#Re-entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab#Re-entry
- burgerbrain 15y agoThat portion of my comment was very obviously tongue in cheek.
- bane 15y agoWelcome to HN, the "unfunniest place on the Internet".
- wisty 15y agoYeah. The problem is, for every joke you post somebody will have a counter-thrust they just have to post. I can't reply to every point. I don't have the breadth of knowledge. But I can and will reply to every joke, and there's hundreds of geeks just like me ;) Then every thread goes: Point, counter-point, joke, counter-joke, counter-counter-joke, "touche", guy who didn't get the joke, "whoosh", and then troll-war over how the site is becoming slashdot.
- redthrowaway 15y ago|troll-war over how the site is becoming reddit FTFY (preemptive notice: tongue firmly in cheek)
- burgerbrain 15y agoI've always found that slashdot's moderation system does a great job of handling that particular problem by allowing users to be modded "funny" in particular, making it not count for anything, and allowing users to add a moderation modifier to "funny" moderations (so you can redefine a +1 Funny to be effectively -1 Funny, if you wish).
- Zak 15y agoI know this was intended to be tongue in cheek, but aborting or interrupting a shuttle mission by docking with the ISS and, if required sending the crew back on a Soyuz or two is actually a reasonable response to certain mid-flight emergencies.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- ugh 15y agoTwo Soyuz, actually. They need two because the ISS now has a six person crew and one Soyuz has only space for three people. Using the Space Shuttle would also not be practical because you can’t swap it out. Those Soyuz don’t stay permanently attached to the ISS, they are swapped out whenever a new Soyuz arrives (every few months). The Soyuz spacecraft is only rated for six months in space (the Space Shuttle is likely rated for much, much less time).
- ben1040 15y agoTwo Soyuz, actually. They need two because the ISS now has a six person crew and one Soyuz has only space for three people. Also, I had no idea until just now that each seat is for a specific person, because the Soyuz seat is custom-fitted for its user to protect them against the forces involved. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/astronauts/journals_anderson_ch6.html http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/astronauts/journals_ande...