kkeenan 14 #1 February 19, 2010 For all the Space nuts, and Bill Von in particular, here is a photo of the new Cupola installed on the International Space Station Node 3. The center window is the largest window ever installed on a spacecraft. The view is second only to the view through a spacesuit helmet visor outside the station. Kevin K. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #2 February 19, 2010 a few questions.... which way is UP ??? does the cupola always face the Earth?? are the station inhabitants weightless all the time??/ so that they can "float up" to where the good viewing is??? ( kinda like when Charlie and Grandpa Joe floated up, in Willie Wonka ) any more pics???/jt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #3 February 19, 2010 On orbit, or in space, there is no up. And yes, Space Station inhabitants are in a zero g freefall all the time. NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpwally 0 #4 February 19, 2010 I think they are landing this weekend ...anyone know when and what time ?smile, be nice, enjoy life FB # - 1083 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 14 #5 February 19, 2010 Quote which way is UP ?? does the cupola always face the Earth?? The Cupola always faces the Earth, so that way is "down". the Station always flies in the same orientation to earth, so there is a "forward and aft" and a "deck and overhead". The deck is toward the Earth and the overhead is away from the Earth. Since the Astros are weightless, they aren't pulled toward the deck, but having a "floor and ceiling" that stay in the same place all the time helps keep them from being disoriented. are the station inhabitants weightless all the time??/ so that they can "float up" to where the good viewing is??? They are weightless all the time. The main use of the Cupola is for the Robotic Arm operator to have a direct view outside the Station. Some of the unmanned cargo-carrying vehicles do not have the capability to dock with the Station automatically. These fly to within about 20 - 30 ft. of the Station and are grabbed by the arm and guided to the docking port. The cupola will give the operator more than a TV view of what they are doing for these operations. During off-duty time, crewmembers say that looking at the Earth is something that they all love to do, so I'm sure there will always be someone in there geeking at the ground. Kind of like the Tandems, "Hey, I can see my house". any more pics???/More than you can imagine... http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiver30960 0 #6 February 19, 2010 Hell yeah, it an example of life truly imitating art: The space station gets an upgrade to make it look more like the Millennium Falcon! Elvisio "insert Chewbacca howl here" Rodriguez Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 14 #7 February 19, 2010 QuoteI think they are landing this weekend ...anyone know when and what time ? Primary Landing Site - KSC Sunday night - First opportunity - 2216 EST Second opportunity-2351 EST There are other opportunities involving Edwards AFB and White Sands Space Harbor that may be used if KSC wx is below minimums, but those will probably not be used until the second landing day. KSC wx is forecast to be pretty good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futuredivot 0 #8 February 19, 2010 Actually, according to Ender, the gate is down.You are only as strong as the prey you devour Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 14 #9 February 19, 2010 QuoteHell yeah, it an example of life truly imitating art: The space station gets an upgrade to make it look more like the Millennium Falcon! Elvisio "insert Chewbacca howl here" Rodriguez Here ya go..._____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cocheese 0 #10 February 19, 2010 You guys kill me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #11 February 19, 2010 I think "up" and "down" are fairly well defined in the US/European/Japanese segment because the modules are mostly connected in a "flat" configuration and laptops and such are generally mounted on the "walls" and are oriented uniformly. JLP and PMM (when it gets there) are modules that stray from this but they're mainly for storage... kinda like an attic and a basement respectively. I imagine the Cupola and the robotics workstation they'll install in it will feel fairly "upside down" for a while and probably take some getting used to. As for the Russian portion of the station, every time I see a video of it I feel like I'm in a submarine tied in a knot. Especially when there are Progress and Soyuz docked all over the place. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #12 February 19, 2010 sure... i know that there's no Up in space,,, but within the station....i'd guess that there is..... Is there any such thing as "artificial gravity"... done with gyroscopes?? or anything like that??? which could be implemented for the folks living there??? the next door neighbors' 'kid'.... who was in Jr High. when we met. has been in Houston for over 10 years,,, working on the space station..... sort of a 'local connection ' for us...jt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #13 February 19, 2010 QuoteIs there any such thing as "artificial gravity"... done with gyroscopes?? or anything like that??? which could be implemented for the folks living there??? Not at the space station that currently exists. The classic donut shaped space station designs you saw in the late 50s and in the movie 2001 rotated to create artificial gravity, but to do that you'd really need a station quite a bit more ambitious than anyone is willing to construct at this time.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #14 February 19, 2010 Quote sure... i know that there's no Up in space,,, but within the station....i'd guess that there is..... Is there any such thing as "artificial gravity"... done with gyroscopes?? or anything like that??? which could be implemented for the folks living there??? the next door neighbors' 'kid'.... who was in Jr High. when we met. has been in Houston for over 10 years,,, working on the space station..... sort of a 'local connection ' for us...jt Being from Huntsville (home of Marshall Space Flight Center and Boeing Space and Defense Group) my closest connection is I used to work for the latter in Facilities Engineering doing CAD work maintaining and updating drawings of the buildings we all worked in. This was in the early 90's, when the design phase of certain portions of ISS was in full swing. One of my friends worked in that dept designing the space station. I really wanted to be in that group.... but didn't have enough working experience at the time. However, I walked by there many times and would look in and see some of their work on the monitors. Really fascinating stuff!"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #15 February 19, 2010 There was a plan to fly a module with a rather large centrifuge on board but it was cancelled a while back. That was going to be for plants, rats, and such though, and wasn't big enough for people. I think it would be an interesting experiment to test how people reacted to a simulated gravity environment produced with a centrifuge. When you spin a centrifuge the acceleration felt is r*tan^2(w) and that "r" out front can cause headaches... Literally. Suppose the centrifuge was about 10 m in diameter (which would be a fairly large structure by today's standards) and was spinning at 9.1 rpm to achieve a 1g environment. If you were standing on the rotating deck, objects at your head level (such as your head) would weigh 2/3 of what they did at your feet. That actually makes me nauseous just thinking about it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #16 February 19, 2010 And right now...some one in space is mooning the earth!Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #17 February 19, 2010 Quote And right now...some one in space is mooning the earth! Are there any places on earth with a telescope powerful enough to see the mooning in the window? "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beerlight 0 #18 February 19, 2010 I have different landing times. Just came out on JSC Today. View the STS-130 crew landing Sunday, Feb. 21, live on NASA TV or on the Web at: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ The first landing opportunity is set for 9:16 p.m. CST at the Kennedy Space Center, with a second opportunity, if necessary, at 10:51 p.m. CST. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #19 February 19, 2010 QuoteI have different landing times. Just came out on JSC Today. View the STS-130 crew landing Sunday, Feb. 21, live on NASA TV or on the Web at: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ The first landing opportunity is set for 9:16 p.m. CST at the Kennedy Space Center, with a second opportunity, if necessary, at 10:51 p.m. CST. Uh... those are the same times Kevin posted... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beerlight 0 #20 February 19, 2010 Quote Quote I have different landing times. Just came out on JSC Today. View the STS-130 crew landing Sunday, Feb. 21, live on NASA TV or on the Web at: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ The first landing opportunity is set for 9:16 p.m. CST at the Kennedy Space Center, with a second opportunity, if necessary, at 10:51 p.m. CST. Uh... those are the same times Kevin posted... haha your fuckin right! I didn't even make note of the pm.... I'm definitely due a freakin beer now!! Anyways....oops Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonTheGeek 0 #21 February 19, 2010 QuoteActually, according to Ender, the gate is down. Win. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #22 February 20, 2010 I was thinking ,, Yeah i suppose you would need cup holders on the space station, but it's hardly worth posting about You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #23 February 20, 2010 the pictures link from kkeenan on post # 5 of this thread is WELL WORTH taking the time to view.....some amazing photos. You can advance them as you like... and be sure to click on the "captions" icon, for an interesting explanation of each... then lose the caption for a full screen view of the image... very nice...thanks kk jmy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
