Comments on: The window, the window, throw it out the window...

The window, the window, throw it out the window...

eriko — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:14:40 -0800

Fancy way to build a satellite -- spend millions of dollars hiring engineers to carefully construct your orbital gem, then millions more on a massive rocket to loft it into space. BORING. Easy way to build a satellite -- shove a radio into a spacesuit and toss it off a space station. Meet SuitSat 1.

By: Jawn

Jawn — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:36:02 -0800

Seems kinda morbid to me. Some poor suit just floating aimlessly in space. And what happens when its orbit degrades and it comes hurtling down to the grown and lands in little Timmys backyard? Who's gonna pay for that kids counseling? NASA? The transmission ends with a Slow Scan TV picture. Of what? "We're not telling," laughs Bauer. "It's a mystery picture." Here's hoping it's goatse.

By: Tikirific

Tikirific — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:40:58 -0800

Something of a spacesuit's size would pretty much burn completely on re-entry, no?

By: dorian

dorian — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:41:22 -0800

ugh, it's like bradbury's kaleidoscope. osj.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:41:56 -0800

Defenestration reaches new heights! Let's hope the radio has a cassette of "Major Tom" cued up, or perhaps a DVD of 2001 set to play Dave's EVA sequence following Frank's spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to replace a malfunctioning Ethernet card.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:49:54 -0800

This is an excellent companion to the Major Tom video linked to earlier. Question. Why the spacesuit? Wouldn't it be cheaper to just toss out a vacuum hardened radio, a battery, and a couple of solar cells? Though, "free" is a pretty good price for a surplus Russian vac suit.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:50:26 -0800

Reminds me of the old saw where NASA spent millions researching how to make a pen write in zero gravity. The Russians switched to pencil. I see maybe 500 years in the future some guy crashing into this in his Sony LEOV, worried that he hit some old guy and realizing that it's just an old US spacesuit. ...perhaps we should fill it with red jello to really shake him up.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:50:55 -0800

Er...Russian space suit.

By: cmyk

cmyk — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:51:53 -0800

They're probably using a suit so they can find out just how much abuse it can withstand. I get the idea doing such experiments with a suit containing a person would be a bad idea. If there's no Space Oddity playing, I'll be quite disappointed.

By: strawberryviagra

strawberryviagra — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:55:48 -0800

This survived re-entry it seems, Tikirific:

By: loquacious

loquacious — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:07:46 -0800

There's a few nutballs out there that want to be the first to do a manned but no-vehicle re-entry. I'm pretty sure all of the scenarios so far discussed have been non-orbital, which simplifies things. Basically a balloon with a platform or something to the edge of space and a bit beyond, and then a very high altitude skydive in a special pressure suit designed to withstand the extremes. However, one worry is that the spacediver could become aerodynamically unstable and go into an unrecoverable spin. A spin with enough rotations per minute to tear off limbs, cause strokes or otherwise turn him/her into pulp.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:08:35 -0800

Vac suit. I like saying "vac suit". Vac suit, vac suit.

By: Balisong

Balisong — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:10:26 -0800

"May the Farce be with you. Beep. May the farce be with you. Beep. May the farce be with you. beep"

By: skallas

skallas — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:14:41 -0800

Noun1.defenestrationdefenestration - the act of throwing someone or something out of a window

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:16:22 -0800

Vac suit! Vac suit! Vac suit! so what will they be transmitting, now?

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:16:41 -0800

Reminds me of the old saw where NASA spent millions researching how to make a pen write in zero gravity. The Russians switched to pencil. Apparently not true. Graphite particles from pencils can play havoc with sensitive equipment in zero gravity.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:17:45 -0800

because fenestration refers to openings or appendages on the outside of something, most frequently used in the construction trades. defenestration thus can mean being thrown out of a window. however it can also mean being deprived of arms, legs, or one's manly appurtenance.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:18:06 -0800

"Will the suit overheat? How long will the batteries last? Can we get a clear transmission if the suit tumbles?" wonders Bauer. These are some of the questions SuitSat will answer, laying the groundwork for SuitSats of the future. I am not convinced that you need to send a suit to space to answer any of those questions. If you wanted to make an ultra-cheap satellite, you might want to start with a small radio and a 2" thick layer of duct tape.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:27:17 -0800

I don't know, the idea of a whole bunch of man shaped suitsats floating in space is kind of creepy. Would they be facing up or down?

By: fenriq

fenriq — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:36:24 -0800

loquacious, so would the first guy to try it be the bravest or the second guy after the first got turned into atmospheric hamburger?

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:44:32 -0800

Hey Strawberry, make with some more source on that helmet! February 1, so that would be from Columbia?

By: dsword

dsword — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:01:43 -0800

...you might want to start with a small radio and a 2" thick layer of duct tape. Radiation.

By: strawberryviagra

strawberryviagra — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:20:18 -0800

Mwhybark - here you go From the Guardian.

By: strawberryviagra

strawberryviagra — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:25:50 -0800

Um, weird - I actually pasted a shot I found here, I assume it's the same helmet but from a different angle. The caption on the link above is a tad insensitive.

By: Guy Smiley

Guy Smiley — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:27:09 -0800

Vac SMOCK!

By: dhartung

dhartung — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:46:37 -0800

Keep in mind that the Columbia helmet was completely protected from re-entry for the first fifteen minutes, then still within the cabin structure for an unknown period as it tumbled and broke apart. A naked space suit would not fare as well. I see maybe 500 years in the future some guy crashing into this An object in low earth orbit (under 200 miles) has a survival measured in months. An orbit is just a certain kind of very slow fall. The pen story is bogus. Both the US and Russians use the same pressurized zero-G pen, manufactured privately in the US. What the Russians did use was grease pencils.

By: chrominance

chrominance — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 23:08:20 -0800

I don't know, the idea of a whole bunch of man shaped suitsats floating in space is kind of creepy. Would they be facing up or down? The first extraterrestrial art piece created by humans. What would we call it? I vote for "Iceberg, Right Ahead!" or "Neglected Goldfish Heaven."

By: Jawn

Jawn — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 01:47:17 -0800

The first extraterrestrial art piece created by humans I think that honor would have to be this little fella.

By: Jawn

Jawn — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 01:47:59 -0800

er, go to.

By: antifuse

antifuse — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 02:14:15 -0800

loquacious, so would the first guy to try it be the bravest or the second guy after the first got turned into atmospheric hamburger? Heinlein wrote about a not-quite-the-same-but-still-sorta-the-same situation where 3 soldiers go in for shots from the doctor... the first soldiers gets an air bubble or something in his blood and dies. The second soldiers blanches a bit, but steels himself and dies as well. The doctor tries to refuse to do the third soldier, but he forces the doctor to do it and he survives. Then they do a post-mortem on the second soldier, and it turns out he died of fright. Umm, that doesn't really have anything to do with anything, I guess... but it just reminded me of that story :)

By: cenoxo

cenoxo — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 03:10:05 -0800

There's a few nutballs out there that want to be the first to do a manned but no-vehicle re-entry. Real spacemen with the right stuff don't need no stinkin' spacecraft to get back to Terra Firma. Try the MOOSE suit (Man Out Of Space, Easiest) on for size:

MOOSE was perhaps the most celebrated bail-out from orbit system of the early 1960's. The suited astronaut would strap the MOOSE to his back, and jump out of the spacecraft or station into free space. Pulling a ripcord would fill an inflatable heat shield with polyurethane. The astronaut would use a small hand-held gas to orient himself for retro-fire, and then fire a solid rocket motor strapped to his chest to return to earth.

Retros on, man!

By: zsazsa

zsazsa — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 06:08:25 -0800

Wheee!!! (source)

By: Ogre Lawless

Ogre Lawless — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 15:05:34 -0800

Good God. I thought this was something the boys up at the 'Station were working on in their spare time and were, you know, just going to kick it out the door for kicks. I hadn't realized this was something they were going to work up "back home" and then send up. I'm sure some high-school science club with a thermally wrapped Igloo™ cooler full of Really Neat Science® is right now collectively yelling "and we lost our payload space for this?!?"