WeAreStarStuff
Member
Why the hell am I ignorant of this?
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Space: The Final Frontier
- Thread starter Windu
- Start date
Why the hell am I ignorant of this?
Yeah, me too. Now i'm not studying biology (or anything else at the moment...) but this is exactly the sort of knowledge/trivia i tend to possess.
Miller-Urey was covered in almost all of the intro Chem/Bio classes I took at university. I think (unfortunately) a lot of high school biology classes steer away from covering it in fear of upsetting the same religious fundamentalists who have gotten teachers in trouble for covering evolution. It is a shame considering later experiments which have better modeled the conditions of the early Earth have actually created even more amino acids and longer chain molecules indicating in favor of abiogenesis.
I came across that by accident by overhearing it...somewhere. Just never knew what it was and mentioned it a few times to friends, but I could never elaborate because I never knew what it was called. The only thing that I can link with it was reading up on how those toy Plasma Ball spheres worked.
Leeroy3101
Banned
I think we should rethink the way we teach science. I think students need to be put into the frame of mind of those who discovered many principles across all science fields. Now it's just a bunch of telling of theories and ways to apply them. It's all a matter of framing the mind to understand how these theories came about.
This applies virtually to all subject matter. The current teaching model is several hundred years old.
That's 9:55AM British Summer Time and you can watch it live here:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/open-space/
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/open-space/
In HD. I think a lot of US providers don't have NASA TV in HD.
Yes. Just cargo/supplies to ISS.
Cheesemeister
Member
Sounds like an auto-abort after ignition. The computer found something that it didn't like before the locks were released. According to Elon, the past two delays for the mission have been to software issues specifically dealing with this issue (the computer acting too skittish). SpaceX said that one of the engine parameters was out of bounds.
I know. I have class all day Tuesday, so unless it is another morning launch, I'm SOL. I was really looking forward to seeing an early morning launch too.
I know. I have class all day Tuesday, so unless it is another morning launch, I'm SOL. I was really looking forward to seeing an early morning launch too.
Well the 22nd opportunity is 3:44 AM EST. About an hour earlier than tonights. So you should be good?
I work the graveyard shift.
I'm sorry to hear that. I am thrilled that it is another early morning launch window and hopefully, the limit issue is quickly overcome. I was very surprised to hear on the SpaceX cast that they have a second Falcon 9 onsite at the Cape and it sounds like they will roll that out instead.
Leeroy3101
Banned
Why isn't NASA or the U.S. government pushing for in-orbit assembly of spacecraft? We seem too locked in this whole "let private entities figure stuff out" mindset of space exploration.
I sort of like the Space Launch System but what are we going to do with it?
I sort of like the Space Launch System but what are we going to do with it?
Price.
Leeroy3101
Banned
We could try and get nations to unite on this sort of project to share the costs. Think of it as human ambassadors to other worlds.
Elfforkusu
Member
Investment.
For some reason it's ok to spend billions of dollars on government contracts, but not okay to spend the billions of dollars on actually solving the problems.
I guess this way, at least we can feed the privatized space exploration delusion for another decade or two.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
You know what we need? We need to start sending fleets of robots into space. Diggers/miners, haulers, smelters, and 3D printers! I saw Hawking's new show and realized how important 3D printers will be as we try to get off this planet. Now I'm psyched.
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
That will take years, and incredible amount of money. Governments should invest in these things since the earth´s resources can´t go on for ever.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
Probably time to start, I think. We should start a neighborhood watch.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
You can get a single international organization to pull double duty as asteroid observation/deflection and space mining. They need the same technologies, the only difference is where you steer the ol' space rocks. Private industry and individual governments should not be trusted with this, but they can be involved at the funding-level (e.g. they provide the bank to ship a small, rich asteroid to Earth for mining, and then they keep 90% of the profits).
I agree with you on that. I hate the cost plus contract system that's in place (which is one of the many reasons I love the COTS/CCDev milestone contracts) and it is one of the biggest reasons projects have continually gone over budget and have been delayed. In a perfect world, I would love to see NASA (fit with a significantly larger budget) devote a significant amount of their budget towards high end R&D (different propulsion, engineering in zero-g or low gravity, asteroid mining technologies, etc.). Unfortunately, in the current political climate and with the SLS/Orion taking up a sizable chunk of NASA budget, it is neigh impossible to imagine a scenario in which Congress appropriates enough money to NASA to make effectively pursuing these technologies a reality.
I would strongly contend your second point about the "delusion" of private space exploration.
opticalmace
Member
Just curious, does anyone else here study astronomy (or a related field)?
Elfforkusu
Member
"Private space exploration", as it were, will only happen after a national power (or collection thereof) goes first.
Show me a historical example otherwise if you have one, because as far as I know real exploration has always been state-driven.
Getting employees killed just to "see what's over there" is not something private companies can do effectively.
I planned to, but other (more artistically) things cought my interest so I did not. I regret it heavily and it would be a huge time, money and learning investment to catch up
Studied in my undergrad and then switched to CS. Still know a few people in the field, though and I'm pretty involved in the local RASC group.
Guess I'm staying up...
If only they offered it at my school...
If I can't go to space, might as well focus on saving and preserving Earth as an environmental scientist.
Maybe one day they'll need some of us on a manned mission to mars for soil samples and the like.
Anyone know of any eclipse activity if viewing from the middle east? I'd like a website to know when such activity happens. I used to use celestia but I no longer had the space for it.
Also, SpaceX stuff is interesting, going to be great to wake up and see the (good or bad) news.
Also, SpaceX stuff is interesting, going to be great to wake up and see the (good or bad) news.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_eclipses_in_the_21st_century
If I saw correctly, you just have to wait til 2027 or 2053. But even those might be partial depending on your location. Did not take annular solar eclipses in consideration.
If I saw correctly, you just have to wait til 2027 or 2053. But even those might be partial depending on your location. Did not take annular solar eclipses in consideration.
Forsete
Member
CF_Fighter
Member
Watching the livestream. I live on the almost on the opposite coast of FL from the Cape so I'll have a chance to see it actually launch. The final Endeavor launch at night was visible from here as well.
They just mentioned sending up fresh fruits and veggies. Were they sending up those types of things on other cargo vehicles or the shuttle, or were they packed weeks in advance like this trip was?
They just mentioned sending up fresh fruits and veggies. Were they sending up those types of things on other cargo vehicles or the shuttle, or were they packed weeks in advance like this trip was?