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Rolls eyes There is a reason they keep two Soyuz ships docked on the ISS at all times as lifeboats, in case they need to evacuate in a hurry. Those things are

by cstross 14y ago

Rolls eyes There is a reason they keep two Soyuz ships docked on the ISS at all times as lifeboats, in case they need to evacuate in a hurry. Those things are bloody expensive; if jumping overboard was a reasonable alternative, it'd be vastly preferable to keeping ten tons of ironmongery and heat shields on hand. Having said that, see 1963's Project MOOSE: http://www.astronautix.com/craft/moose.htm http://www.astronautix.com/craft/moose.htm

andrewingram 14y ago
I think the question was asking if survival would be at all possible, rather than whether it's a reasonable course of action in the event of an evacuation. It looks like, for now at least, the answer is no.
wr1472 14y ago
Rolls eyes why do you need to type that? I think it is irrelevant, rude and condescending. Otherwise your comment was quite informative and I would have upvoted it.
- stcredzero 14y ago
  There are a number of comments on that site that are eye roll worthy. There are even a few comments that show cluelessness about the magnitude and implications of orbital velocity.
  - WayneDB 14y ago
    That's no reason to be condescending and rude. Not everybody knows about that stuff.
    - cstross 14y ago
      Really? It's stuff I was taught about in physics lessons at grammar school, circa age 15, back in the 1970s. Have things slipped so far?
      - dkokelley 14y ago
        The way I see it, "rolls eyes" is a violation of > When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is an idiotic thing to say; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." from the site guidelines. Granted, this was in reply to an article rather than another commenter, but I think the principle is the same.
      - stcredzero 14y ago
        > Have things slipped so far? Yes. :(
      - slurgfest 14y ago
        In the US, 15-year-olds are typically going to be in High School, not grammar school, and have a choice of classes. Not everyone takes physics.
  - Florin_Andrei 14y ago
    You do realize that knowledge of these things is an attribute of a tiny minority?
prof_hobart 14y ago
They have lifeboats on ferries crossing the English Channel. That's not because it's physically impossible to swim the channel (it's quite clearly possible, and is done on a fairly regular basis), but because most people couldn't do it, and even if they could the lifeboat is a safer way of managing an evacuation from a sinking ship. I'm not saying that it is possible to jump from the ISS, just that the presence of a lifeboat doesn't demonstrate that any other evacuation route is impossible.
Florin_Andrei 14y ago
> Rolls eyes In the real world knowledge of this stuff is vanishingly thin actually. Real world - the thing out there, with people and trees and stuff.

by cstross 14y ago

andrewingram 14y ago

I think the question was asking if survival would be at all possible, rather than whether it's a reasonable course of action in the event of an evacuation. It looks like, for now at least, the answer is no.

wr1472 14y ago

Rolls eyes why do you need to type that? I think it is irrelevant, rude and condescending. Otherwise your comment was quite informative and I would have upvoted it.

stcredzero 14y ago
There are a number of comments on that site that are eye roll worthy. There are even a few comments that show cluelessness about the magnitude and implications of orbital velocity.
- WayneDB 14y ago
  That's no reason to be condescending and rude. Not everybody knows about that stuff.
  - cstross 14y ago
    Really? It's stuff I was taught about in physics lessons at grammar school, circa age 15, back in the 1970s. Have things slipped so far?
    - dkokelley 14y ago
      The way I see it, "rolls eyes" is a violation of > When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is an idiotic thing to say; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." from the site guidelines. Granted, this was in reply to an article rather than another commenter, but I think the principle is the same.
    - stcredzero 14y ago
      > Have things slipped so far? Yes. :(
    - slurgfest 14y ago
      In the US, 15-year-olds are typically going to be in High School, not grammar school, and have a choice of classes. Not everyone takes physics.
- Florin_Andrei 14y ago
  You do realize that knowledge of these things is an attribute of a tiny minority?

prof_hobart 14y ago

They have lifeboats on ferries crossing the English Channel. That's not because it's physically impossible to swim the channel (it's quite clearly possible, and is done on a fairly regular basis), but because most people couldn't do it, and even if they could the lifeboat is a safer way of managing an evacuation from a sinking ship. I'm not saying that it is possible to jump from the ISS, just that the presence of a lifeboat doesn't demonstrate that any other evacuation route is impossible.

Florin_Andrei 14y ago

> Rolls eyes In the real world knowledge of this stuff is vanishingly thin actually. Real world - the thing out there, with people and trees and stuff.