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On Orbit => Real NASA Space Shuttle Missions => Topic started by: abortflight on June 28, 2008, 08:19:19 PM
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Post them here. Mine was that the shuttle took off like a plane. And I actually wrote a letter to NASA when I was seven about how they could turn the shuttle into the first commercial spacecraft by just putting some airplane seats in the payload bay! Needless to say, they didn't take to that letter too well...
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when I a small boy (late 80's or early 90's) - Space shuttle Discovery was launched (and it was on the news).
from some reason, I've then decided that the "space shuttle" is actually "Discovery" (ie. the "discovery" Colombia the "discovery" Endeavour and so on). it took me a couple of years to realize where i'm wrong :)
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Nice thread!
/Admin
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...putting some airplane seats in the payload bay! Needless to say, they didn't take to that letter too well...
You've watched Moonraker once too often :)
Three Stories:
Like most people I couldn't understand why the space craft like the space shuttle, apollo and soyuz level out to get into orbit. I thought space was just 'straight-up'. In high school when I was about 10yrs, I picked up a beginners guide about space, then it all made some sense, not mathematically though... :)
I didn't realise until the same age that the onboard computers automatically kept the Shuttle at AOA of 36-40 degrees during re entry, I blame the film Space Camp.
When they stopped painting the ET white, I thought that with Florida's weather that the tanks rusted up waiting to be used! Wasn't until the 2nd, 3th, or maybe 4th flight of Challenger I realised what they had done :)
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LOl yes I lived in Fla and thought too that the tank was just rusted I remember thinking why would they let it fly looking like that.I also thought the tiles were thin like bathroom tiles.
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I also believed that Mir was hovering above Cape Canaveral (even though it's a Russian station) and the shuttle would just go straight up to get to it. :-\
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When I was about 10 years old, I saw the first pictures of the Space Shuttle Enterprise riding piggyback on the 747 SCA. Of course, I first thought that the Shuttle could be launched to space right off the back of that 747. ;D
But luckily, these pictures (and my misconception) started my interest in the Space Shuttle program and I was fascinated by this kind of launch concept. I started to look for more information about the program and I remember that I was a little disappointed when I soon discovered that the 747 was used only for a few gliding tests and to carry the Shuttle around, and the Shuttle would be launched to space just like any "normal" rocket.
About one or two years later, the "Moonraker" James Bond movie came out. I did not know much about this movie or James Bond movies in general, but I knew that the Shuttle played an important part in it. So, I had to see that movie! Now, guess what: One of the first scenes in the movie shows a Space Shuttle being launched off the back of a 747! Not to be launched to space, but to be hijacked and flown to some secret launch base.
I got quite upset over this misinterpretation of the reality and even made some comments in the sold out but quiet theatre. My parents later told me, that I even swore that I would never watch a James Bond movie again, as this was the biggest crap that I had ever seen. Quite a big talk for a 12-year-old... ;D ;D
Anyway, my interest for the Space Shuttle program held up until today, and I have seen all James Bond movies to date, either on TV or in a movie theatre.... ;)
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When I was a kid I used to believe the handoff ("Auto sequence start") was called out by the Shuttle herself (as it was a female controller for a large number of launches).
Though it's not a misconception that the Shuttles are female :)
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IN MY YOUTH... I had a hard time getting over the fact the a Shuttle is faster than the SR-71A. (Strictly based on looks) ;D
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In my (very) youth, my brother and I had the misconception that we could do much the same thing using a rocket made of chip board. It was basically just a monstrous wooden thing filled with gasoline and a fuse... me, the youngest, lightest and brightest, I gather, on top.
Now, I had my doubts about the whole thing, but my older brother assured me that there wasn't anything to worry about - he "knew what he was doing". You see, I wasn't going into space per se... just helluva high way up in the air, where I just had to deploy my parachute made of sheets and float safely back to Earth. Naturally I had to go through some vigorous training where I mostly had to jump off high ledges and get hit in the stomach a lot. I had the easy task, though, as my brother had to roll away the gigantic chipboard tower, press the shoebox buttons, talk in the walkie-talkie... and stuff :)
Well, we sure had a lot of fun with it, made engineering drawings and such. Our interest got diverted, however, when we started planning our huge chipboard submarine that we wanted to drag along the bottom on wheels from a baby carriage.
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When I was (Real young) kid, I thought the external tank will deflate in space and carried back in the cargo bay... (But no bad idea I think. That could really conserve some materials for building a new one every time the shuttle starts)
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When I was (Real young) kid, I thought the external tank will deflate in space and carried back in the cargo bay...
(But no bad idea I think. That could really conserve some materials for building a new one every time the shuttle starts)
Remember, The Shuttle rides on that.... :o
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...I was a kid in the 60's, so the first flights I watched were the Gemini / Agena rondezvous missions that paved the way for the Apollo / LEM docking manouvers. Whenever there was a launch or televised mission event the teacher would wheel a big old B&W TV into the classroom and everyone would watch with rapt attention at the unbelieveable spectacle of each event. We all know that space programs are no longer the media darlings they once were, but...
My biggest misconception was/is that anybody, anywhere, could help but continue to be amazed by the 1000's of personal, intellectual and technological triumphs that each of those and every space mission since represents.
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A glider that can't soar :)
I prefer the term "Falling with Style" or "Flying Brick/pig". I've heard comments that it handles great above Mach1, anything less, either the brick or the pig. But, what a brick/pig!
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A glider that can't soar :)
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Well, it can -a tiny bit... ;)
The ratio is 1:4, which means by descending 1m it flies 4 m forward.
The best "real" glider that is manufactured today (in Germany ;D) has about 1:70
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Sorry for going off topic, last word on sail-planes/gliders from me.
The only 'thermals' that the shuttle can us would destroy a glass-ship, mind you to get to those heights be a very large wave lift :D The Eta is a weird glider, those wings look like they'll snap at any moment :D Personally, I prefer either the ASG29 or the Antares 18/20e. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tefh8MOvspE) I created this for another sim ;)
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When I was (Real young) kid, I thought the external tank will deflate in space and carried back in the cargo bay...
(But no bad idea I think. That could really conserve some materials for building a new one every time the shuttle starts)
Remember, The Shuttle rides on that.... :o
Sorry for Off-Topic! :-X
Not really... It just a big tank with pumps and isolation... After the fuel is out, it's just littering the orbit or falls back into atmosphere.
The trick will be to make it stable enough to resist the force's through start while SRB's (attached to the shuttle and external tank) and Space Shuttle main engine's are running.
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I very recently thought the shuttle would go almost into orbit, do the mission in 1 orbit, then reenter and land again
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Another misconception I had just remembered is that I never realized the "shuttle" was for low atmosphere missions. I use to think it could go to the moon.
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just discovered a new misconception I had..
always thought the Challenger blew up.. I just found out I was wrong...
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yes, mostly aerodynamic forces cause the breakup of the shuttle. An over simplified version: the right SRB separated at the faulty O-ring, which caused the ET to have massive structure failure, which placed the shuttle in a serious angle into the air stream, which could not cope with the forces...
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Almost everyone I know thinks the shuttle can land on the moon, But I tell them that the shuttle is an Shuttle vehicle and not a moon lander! 8)
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Almost everyone I know thinks the shuttle can land on the moon, But I tell them that the shuttle is an Shuttle vehicle and not a moon lander! 8)
Then show them SSM2007 8)
/Admin
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don't I d did ;)
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Before I went to KSC and went inside, I think was Discovery Space Shuttle, I always thought that the cargo bay was all for the astronauts to live in :D
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I always assumed that the re-entry took only a few minutes....until I did my first full re-entry on STS-1. :D
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WOW, I wonder what was wrong with me, my previous post was odd lol.
Well ill rephrase it, before I ever went to KSC and inside the Discovery Space shuttle, I always used to think that the cargo bay was where the astronauts lived, did experiments or whatever where they dont need there space suits.
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Cheap
Common place
Moneymaker
Bout covers it...
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I too thought Challenger exploded. Saw on "When we Left Earth" when that ran on Discovery channel that the crew actually survived the break up of the shuttle. That was some very sad news to hear indeed.
And I also thought that during re-entry that the Shuttle was engulfed in that plasma glow for a lot longer than I have experienced in SSMS.
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When I saw my first launch I thought the Main Engines are not working. 8)
I know it better today.
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I was sure that the Shuttle program will be active forever ... This is my biggest misconception...
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I was sure that there always be a Shuttle - this being the first of a long line of Space Shuttles, taking people back and forth to touristic Space Stations (hotels in space). That was back in '75, when they were only talking about the STS program.
How sad that my childhood hopes and imagination didn't come true after all. Maybe politicians should talk to kids more often.
/Admin
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@Admin
Defnitly, they should to kids more often...
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... I cannot believe sts program just finished. Tears and sadness will slowly pass... But space shuttle will never fly again andthis is extremely sad to accept.
Also because NASA has NOTHING in substitution in the meanwhile ... And as per constellation project, the same can happen to Orion and all the rest... Cannot believe this!
This is an end of an era .. do not know if there will be a true new era in the next decade.
Denis Ferrari - Italy
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In 1981 i thought "OK, 10 years later the next generation of shuttles will launch like a normal jet".
Now, more than 30 years later we will get MPCV.... :-X
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OR will we?
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OR will we?
We will.
We also got Space X. Which may end up doing more than NASA. What would that say if Space X got to Mars before NASA?
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If we are on Mars before 2050 ill be amazed...
We have to go back to the moon first. We still dont really know what will happen to humans after 18 month in constant zero g. We should get a better idea of that when Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko fly to the iSS for a year long mission in 2015.
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If we are on Mars before 2050 ill be amazed...
We have to go back to the moon first. We still dont really know what will happen to humans after 18 month in constant zero g. We should get a better idea of that when Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko fly to the iSS for a year long mission in 2015.
That is going to be quite a thing, I look forward to that flight with great anticipation. That will really give us some insight into what a Mars flight will look like in terms of the toll on the human passengers.
Also give us a clue into what can be done about it.
I don't tend to get that excited about the day to day of the ISS, mainly because it is always there and always going on, it is easy to loose track of it and get caught up in the launches that go on in the meantime. Especially back in the Shuttle days. But that will get my attention for a bit I should think.