Comments on: The Future Is A Giant Smelly Series Of Tubes. In Space.

The Future Is A Giant Smelly Series Of Tubes. In Space.

awenner — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:36:33 -0800

Behold the mundane wonders of the space age. NASA offers a four-part hi-def tour of the International Space Station. [via] Cynical-C

Choice quote: "On the deck, we call this a deck, uh, this is the Minus Eighty Lab Freezer, uh, Melfi. We use that a lot. We store a lot of our biological samples, urine and blood there. And on the ceiling . . ."

By: Rhomboid

Rhomboid — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:21:09 -0800

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:24:05 -0800

I'll wait for Virgin Galactic's model. You get lil' slippers and an eye mask!

By: popechunk

popechunk — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:25:33 -0800

Wow, is that thing huge. Wow, is Soyuz small. Wow, did I enjoy watching that.

By: Silentgoldfish

Silentgoldfish — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:41:55 -0800

Honest question: does zero g play havoc with your sinuses or does that guy just have a blocked nose?

By: Kikkoman

Kikkoman — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:12:15 -0800

This was a neat impromptu tour of the ISS. It's larger than I expected. @Silentgoldfish - Yeah, Zero G apparently messes with the distribution of fluids.

By: Kikkoman

Kikkoman — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:14:45 -0800

Reference in Spacecraft Systems Engineering to redistribution of blood volume.

By: heathkit

heathkit — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:51:37 -0800

Not to be a buzzkill or anything, but what has the ISS produced over the course of it's life? Do we have better engineering techniques and procedures for space vessels? Has it produced any interesting science? Are we any closer to the Moon or Mars for having had ISS?

By: Catfry

Catfry — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:15:03 -0800

One argument goes that there might be something, some basic principle or unkown mechanism that can be discovered in microgravity but cannot on Earth. If this is the case we obviously do not know about it but we can try to uncover it on ISS. We might not but it is better to try than not. You are welcome to debate the likelyhood of such a ting but we cannot know until the tests have been done.

By: zap rowsdower

zap rowsdower — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:54:52 -0800

Keep in mind that the ISS isn't done. It's always been intended to be manned by more than 3 people- it takes ~2.3 people working full time all year to maintain it. With only 3, there's no real time for science. Theoretically, they'll be going to 6 crew this coming spring, which should enable some actual research to get done (of course, NASA doesn't have the money to fund the research, but...). Some science is starting to get done, with pretty promising results. Also, yeah- being in space for a long time is akin to having a cold all the time. Their faces get all puffed up, and their noses get stuffy. The astronauts tend to like spicy foods while they're up there, since they can't taste the bland stuff. Shrimp cocktail is a perennial favorite.

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:08:17 -0800

what has the ISS produced over the course of it's life? Oh, we've had the manned/robot space mission debate here many times. Much like the Space Shuttle, the ISS is a pretty inefficient project in terms of science obtained per taxpayer dollar.... but: (1) It's a way for the U.S. to learn more about an area of space expertise where rhe Russians had a huge head start. (2) It's better than the U.S. spending money on killing people (3) Originally planned as a U.S.-only project, it was expanded to engage a floundering ex-USSR space program in danger of leaking technology to groups who wanted to kill people. (4) Big co-operative projects between rival nations have an impact in diffusing tensions and opening up conduits of dialog which can help temper future hostilities.

By: fuq

fuq — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:11:17 -0800

what has the ISS produced over the course of it's life? Awesomeness? I saw this video a few days ago, it is a great video. Hey Yuri! Here is the terrifying follow up when the space station fucking SHAKES VIOLENTLY IN SPACE!!!!! Yikes! I would have peed my pants in zero gravity.