I didn't know you needed a wind tunnel to test those things....
July 2, 2001 8:34 PM   Subscribe

I didn't know you needed a wind tunnel to test those things.... So that's where my tax money is going. I feel much better about NASA now.
posted by christina (23 comments total)
 
I didn't know you needed a wind tunnel to test those things.... So that's where my tax money is going. I feel much better about NASA now (WARNING, don't view this if you are fond of Chihuahuas).
posted by davehat at 9:32 PM on July 2, 2001


You are kidding, right? You realize NASA's budget is, like, tiny, don't you?
posted by techgnollogic at 9:32 PM on July 2, 2001


I would rather see $100,000,000.00 wasted on science that turns out to be surpfluous or unnecessary than see $100.00 wasted on anything else. At least money that goes to science has the potential to make a difference.
posted by Nothing at 9:36 PM on July 2, 2001


Not that NASA has $100,000,000.00 to waste, mind you.
posted by Nothing at 9:37 PM on July 2, 2001


Yes, they wind tunnel test shuttles, without such tests they wouldn't fly. Science is incredibly important and I wish people would see that, allowing bigger budgets. In terms of budgets, science has the power to change everything, and does, daily, everything else merely support and keeps things running, and often times reverts and kicks things back.
posted by tiaka at 9:54 PM on July 2, 2001


i think the reference was to wind tunnel testing the little shuttle models that are sold in the gift shop...

i like to know that when they are dropped they will fall at the ideal 32ft/sec.

(is that right?)
posted by o2b at 10:00 PM on July 2, 2001


i like to know that when they are dropped they will fall at the ideal 32ft/sec. (is that right?)

Not exactly. They accelerate 32 feet per second for each second that they fall. So after one second, they are falling at 32 fps, after two they are falling at 64 fps, after three 96, and so on.

Or in MKS (metric) units, 10 m/s2
posted by kindall at 10:16 PM on July 2, 2001


That's a model of the Shuttle? At first glance, I thought it was some sort of...er, marital aid.
posted by bradlands at 10:29 PM on July 2, 2001


you do realize those chihuahua photos are photoshop creations, right?
posted by chrisege at 11:09 PM on July 2, 2001


One hopes Christina was, uh, joking.

If I'm the engineer responsible for the lives of, say, seven people ... I'm not going to "guess" at how my vehicle is going to respond to a wind shear, a wind shear that could contribute to an accident.

The truth is that the shuttle is a damned ungainly vehicle for atmospheric flight. The necessity of accelerating from Florida's rotational velocity (around 900 miles per hour) to 200-mile-altitude orbital velocity (around 17,500 miles per hour) is paramount. It only takes about three minutes. The vehicle is designed to survive those three minutes, and not much more (if you overdesign a vehicle like an aircraft, it can wind up too heavy to lift its own weight). At a certain point, which is called Max Q (q is the engineering variable for dynamic pressure), the airframe of the shuttle "stack" (all elements together) becomes critically unstable, and the only survivable scenario involves throttling back the Space Shuttle Main Engines from 104% nominal (the baseline was established for the Block I SSMEs, not the current Block II, so it's more than 100%) to 65% nominal. The SSMEs then fire at this reduced rate until Max Q is past, at which point the familiar ground command "Shuttle Go at Throttle Up" comes. The computers then automatically bring the engines back up to 104%. So far ... we've only lost one vehicle.

In one hundred and one flights.

Safe enough for you?
posted by dhartung at 11:22 PM on July 2, 2001


Crisege, you mean to say that NASA didn't try to increase the brain capacity of the chihuahua through the use of radiation, either?
posted by Doug at 11:24 PM on July 2, 2001


I'm guessing the photo was posted not so much as a diatribe against perceived fiscal irresponsibility at NASA, but because it's a funny image (which I admit it is, sorta).

But let's be fair. Here's the caption that goes with the pic. Speaking as an engineer, I can assure you it's a lot more practical to test certain things with scale models before building the real thing, especially when the "real thing" as something as enormously complex as the shuttle.
posted by topolino at 11:42 PM on July 2, 2001


Yup. That's the windtunnel that blows NMR machines to the third world. You can see them flying over LA on an evening sometimes. And the sucking end is being used to slurp up cash to keep basic research going because we're facing a global disaster with no technical advances. 'Cos if we don't have a spacestation people in Africa will starve - the plan is to grow crops on Mars.

Ooops. Sorry - wrong thread. Should be with the drug-addled ramblings.
posted by andrew cooke at 11:59 PM on July 2, 2001


chrisege: What, you mean you can digitally alter images? I'm off to set up a celebrity porn site. Bet no one thought of that!
posted by davehat at 12:01 AM on July 3, 2001


oh, i thought they were wind-testing geeks.

my bad.
posted by jcterminal at 12:26 AM on July 3, 2001


How many times must I see the word chihuahua before I get past the sheepishness of spelling it "chiwawa" a few threads back. sigh.
posted by dong_resin at 6:37 AM on July 3, 2001


Maybe it's early but I looked at it the same way Bradlands did and thought, "no wonder they're so expensive." Not that I know.
posted by mimi at 6:55 AM on July 3, 2001


I thought it was a picture of NASA testing a mockup of Santa's moustachio for wind shear.
posted by dfowler at 7:16 AM on July 3, 2001


I admit it. I couldn't figure out why this was funny. I looked at the picture and said, "oh, he's testing a scale model. well, that seems logical." Of course, I just was reading about how a scale model of the earth in a wind tunnel was used to test theories about solar flares and their interaction with the magnetosphere - which has lead to better predictions about how solar storms will affect satelites and electrical systems on the ground.

I guess too much knowledge really robs you of the chance to enjoy quality humor.
posted by iceberg273 at 7:52 AM on July 3, 2001


My husband has worked for NASA and will be again. I heart NASA, and I love that they make sure they test every vibrator they send into space. now that's quality assurance.





anyone uncerain if I'm joking now?
posted by christina at 8:47 AM on July 3, 2001


me and bradlands-- two perverts in a pod. You know you've been seperated from your husband too long when everything looks like a martital aid...
posted by christina at 8:49 AM on July 3, 2001


if you look real closely in that first picture, you can almost make out the bust of the late Colonel Sanders...
posted by mcsweetie at 9:12 AM on July 3, 2001


I guess too much knowledge really robs you of the chance to enjoy quality humor.

I'm sorry if you're too smart to be able to laugh with the rest of us proletarians.
posted by Hjorth at 1:45 PM on July 3, 2001


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