Space shuttle dodges mysterious space junk
September 10, 2009
Associated Press
NASA has moved the shuttle Discovery out of the way of a mystery piece of orbiting junk and is hoping for a scheduled landing on Earth.
The astronauts fired shuttle thrusters around noon Thursday to avoid what Mission Control is calling a mystery object.
Officials say the debris apparently came off the linked shuttle and international space station during a spacewalk Saturday. Experts do not know what the piece is.
The shuttle is scheduled to land Thursday evening in Florida but thunderstorms could keep it in orbit an extra day or two.
If Discovery skips Florida on Thursday, NASA will consider the backup touchdown site in California as early as Friday.
Discovery delivered supplies and spent more than a week at the space station.
------------
Okay....."Officials say the debris apparently came off the linked shuttle and international space station during a spacewalk Saturday. Experts do not know what the piece is."
What if the piece is actually important for something like uh...landing?
$18 Billion per year!
- nedfumpkin
- CEO
- Posts: 2163
- Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:16 pm
- Location: Hamilton - Canada
Re: $18 Billion per year!
I guess they'll find out come landing time.nedfumpkin wrote:What if the piece is actually important for something like uh...landing?
Hawk
Re: $18 Billion per year!
don't you hate it when scientists get all technical...nedfumpkin wrote: to avoid what Mission Control is calling a mystery object.
I need a little less pressure, and a little more time
"A Little More Homework" by Jason Robert Brown from 13: the Musical
"A Little More Homework" by Jason Robert Brown from 13: the Musical
- Beancounter
- Watchman
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:37 pm
- Location: New Hampshire
Re: $18 Billion per year!
Then they'll be spending a lot more time on the space station...nedfumpkin wrote: What if the piece is actually important for something like uh...landing?
Space is big and dark. Besides the shuttle and space station have thousands of parts. Do you really expect them be able to ID all of them quickly?
Or maybe some expensive top secret equipment just floated off into the abyss... Boy, I'd hat to be the person who let it go.
Re: $18 Billion per year!
That space junk won't hurt anything... all it is is cotton and wool. It's my missing left sock! I got lots of missing socks, I figure they gotta be somewhere. Geosynchronous orbit makes sense, don't it?
=Winchester, Paston & Portsmouth=
====== We Provide Pride! ======
====== We Provide Pride! ======
- Beancounter
- Watchman
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:37 pm
- Location: New Hampshire
Re: $18 Billion per year!
Styrofoam was the cause of the last shuttle disaster. Just think what cotton could do....WPandP wrote:That space junk won't hurt anything... all it is is cotton and wool. It's my missing left sock! I got lots of missing socks, I figure they gotta be somewhere. Geosynchronous orbit makes sense, don't it?