Quote:
Originally Posted by stanlite
the thing i found most funny about human space exploration has to do with the Apollo launch rocket (saturn V). The engines used on that machine (huge things many times bigger then a house) are the most safe ever used according to the NASA tour guide i had (based on failure rates). However in testing NASA couldn't get the injection points right using scientific, mathimatical formula (ie. plans and engineers) So not wanting to give in to frustration NASA's scientist took a electric drill to there test engine and randomly drilled injection points and tested the results (to get the right thrust to heat to whatever else ratio). After doing this a few times they stumbled upon the correct mix of holes in the right places and the Saturn V had its main engine. The hole locations were recorded and replicated on all following engines and to this day remains the only NASA engine not to have failed. Well this was the story told to me by a NASA tour guide leave it up to you to decide if its true or not. But its sounds like NASA haha.
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They wouldn't be so bold or have that initiative anymore. A NASA employee, now, would be sweating over the protocols to put in triplicate forms to ask for a change to the plans, then they'd ship the whole caboose to another facility and have it locked away in a clean room for 6 months whilst the planning committees and the financial committees wrangle over how much it was going to cost and if they could maybe cut some corners without compromising safety, which they'd inevitably would do. Then after 6 Congressional appropriation committees, 6 heads of NASA meetings and 6 more planning committee meetings, the President would sign an executive order to can whatever program it was they were working on, then slash the budget of the agency by 10-20% and tell them to do more with less. Sounds like a familiar scenario, doesn't it??
The old days were the days when they had decent administrators in NASA and everyone was willing to take the risks needed to get the work done and the men/machines/probes in space. Too many bean counters and too many yes men in the organisation, now. Has been for far too long. 0.5 of 1% of the budget, or less, they spend on the space program. They spend more on Big Macs and advertising for the Super Bowl than they do for something infinitely better for everyone than cholesterol, obesity and mindless half time entertainment at a footy match.
No wonder they're going backwards, and fast. Maybe they should do what former NASA administrator Dan Goldin said he'd do if they found an Earth-like planet orbiting around either star of Alpha Centauri. At the rate they're back pedaling now, if they got out and pushed a Space Shuttle in the forward direction, they'd prove Einstein wrong for sure, because they'd instantly jump to Warp 9!!
21.4 hours to Alpha Centauri....not bad going
