Those wacky shuttle folks at NASA are at it again...

[mwfanelli]

Michael, what would you say the ratio of scientists to engineers is at NASA? Do you feel the engineers would be less careful in preparing for a launch?

Do you disagree there are political/commercial pressures at work here?

Many, many more engineers. Yes, the administrators at NASA are under political pressure. But this pressure is not a conspiracy (I hope) just an abundance of ignorance and no background in technology.

So, what are they doing there besides supergluing and duct taping things back together?

Duct tape? They have duct tape??!!!

They litearlly spend all their time doing repairs and maintenance, hoping that their oxygen doesn't run out thanks to continuously faulty generators. Perhaps all the money being "spent" on the ISS is actually funding alien research at Area 51. Hmmm...

[Asylum Steve]

Perhaps all the money being "spent" on the ISS is actually funding alien research at Area 51. Hmmm...

Man, don't you watch West Wing? Alien research has been moved to Fort Knox...

[yakkosmurf]

Duct tape? They have duct tape??!!!

They litearlly spend all their time doing repairs and maintenance, hoping that their oxygen doesn't run out thanks to continuously faulty generators.

Yes, they have duct tape. Why not? It's a great product.

Until last week, there was only one oxygen generator on board. It's Russian built and has been breaking frequently. There are plenty of spare parts for it, so the crew usually gets it running in short order. Also, because oxygen is precious, there are two backup systems to supply oxygen to the crew that are completely different from the generator. A US built generator was flown on the current Shuttle, so the oxygen production systems are not of a concern at all. With 4 layers of redundancy, the crew could stay forever if the one giving the crew problems thus far broke for good. Again, you guys are making a big deal out of nothing, and running wild with false and half information. Learn to use the web.

[mwfanelli]

Sad but true. Decreasing NASA budgets are forcing NASA to look at completely discontinuing research on the space station. This follows a shift away from basic research that has already happened over the years:

"Rather than researching materials, fluid physics and other basic microgravity phenomena, NASA decided to fund only those programs that had a direct bearing on human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit, which is where the space station and the space shuttles fly. Funding for radiation studies, for example, was to be a key part of the U.S. station research program."

"When implementing more than $300 million of station cuts last year, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told Congress it was more important to get the station built than spend money for research."

Sad, but it does confirm what some of us have been saying about the ISS here in this thread.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/0...eut/index.html