[rescue] Re: [geeks] Crap! Not again...

[Dave McGuire]

On Saturday, February 1, 2003, at 06:42 PM, Steve Hatle wrote:
>>  So they knew they had problems and just had to come down anyway?  I
>> don't buy it.  They could've gone to ISS and hung out there and 
>> awaited
>> another ride home.  Sure, a difficult proposition, but better than
>> losing the ship and crew.
>
> I'm no engineer, but I remember enough orbital mechanics from college
> physics to know it's not that easy. Just because the orbiter was in 
> orbit,
> and the IIS was in orbit doesn't mean that it's practical to "just go
> there". Even if they were in similar orbits, the differing velocities,
> orbital positions, and fuel considerations would probably make it darn 
> near
> impossible.

   Perhaps you didn't read the part above when I typed "a difficult 
proposition".  If the alternative is the loss of a two billion dollar 
spacecraft and seven people, they could dump the fucking payload and 
burn farts in the engines to get there.

> ISS probably doesn't have enough reserves (food, air regeneration, 
> water) to
> support 7 additional crew for any length of time, either.

   If memory serves there's a resupply launch going up from Russia 
tomorrow.

       -Dave

--
Dave McGuire                 "Rubber duckies *are* important."
St. Petersburg, FL                            -Doc Shipley