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Author
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Topic: We have a problem: Son of Star Wars fails to blast off
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gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 12-17-2004 05:02 AM
   
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1406358,00.html $80 billion!!!! Isn't that about 5 years of NASA budget? Paul Bramley |
machbusterman
Member Posts: 1778
From: Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Registered: May 2004
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posted 12-17-2004 07:09 AM
There was a parody of this in an episode of the political drama "The West Wing" a couple of years ago and the punchline was... "It missed Mr. President"... "By how much?"... "135"..... "135 feet? Thats pretty good".... "no, miles. 135 miles Mr. President".I don't doubt that it is a worthwhile avenue to explore particularly when the proliferation of ICBM's was rife during the cold war but even if they got it to work once... the chances of being able to repeat it at will I'd say were pretty slim. Regards, Derek
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Rodina
Member Posts: 836
From: Lafayette, CA
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted 12-17-2004 12:34 PM
I trust you'd be up in arms if a scrub of a shuttle mission at, say, 31 seconds was blared to the world media as evidence of rank incompetance or the pointlessness of the manned space program. This is a minor engineering issue, and says *nothing* about the health of the program.I have a problem with ballistic missile defense as currently conceived by my President, but piling on because they scrubed a launch? I would think everyone here knows better. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 12-18-2004 02:30 PM
Granted this was not an operational flight, but there is one difference, IMHO, between this and a Shuttle flight. An anti-missile system needs to work right - every time. Not launch a Shuttle, and you have a second chance. Not so with a system that's supposed to protect the people of a country. |
Rizz
Member Posts: 1208
From: Upcountry, Maui, Hawaii
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 12-18-2004 10:25 PM
Good point Hart.One 'undetected anomaly' can ruin your whole day. [This message has been edited by Rizz (edited December 18, 2004).] |
zee_aladdin
Member Posts: 781
From: California
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 12-22-2004 04:22 PM
I worked on the ICBM and star wars program few years ago as an electronics engineer. All I have to say is that the in-house tests and integration are very extensive and accurate. However, there are always bound to be problems in the 'real life applications' of rocketry. This is just how it is ... |
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