Endeavour had been on the launchpad for weeks
The space shuttle Endeavour has blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida after nearly a month of delays. The shuttle, carrying a new crew of seven to the International Space Station (ISS), left the launch pad at 1950 (0050 GMT Sunday). It is also delivering another massive building block for the ISS.
The launch went ahead when rain held off at one of the two overseas emergency landing strips in Spain.
On Friday, the countdown had been halted less than 10 minutes before lift-off. Experts say this may be the least interesting launch of the shuttle ever. Some even hoped it would explode. Perhaps we would have a better time with NASA if the shuttle was a slut mobile. T and A in space.
― Mike Hanle y (mike), Sunday, 24 November 2002 07:51 (twenty-three years ago)
I'm not sure if NASA is winning right now, and even if it was it's certainly not my way
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 22 January 2004 07:49 (twenty-two years ago)
This is kind of an urgent and key issue which was cruelly ignored initially and must be discussed.
― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 22 January 2004 08:55 (twenty-two years ago)
― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Thursday, 22 January 2004 13:25 (twenty-two years ago)
― Stuart (Stuart), Thursday, 22 January 2004 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 22 January 2004 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)
Current?
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 22 January 2004 21:47 (twenty-two years ago)
― Stuart (Stuart), Thursday, 22 January 2004 23:33 (twenty-two years ago)
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 23 January 2004 04:29 (twenty-two years ago)
In regards to the complaint about watching astronauts/cosmonauts on Shuttle and ISS missions performing the same "simple" experiments repeatedly: One of the NASA Outreach programs allows for a live hook-up between the Station/Orbiter and various school sites. The students are given a live video link (one way, usually) as well as an audio link to those in orbit, and are allowed to ask questions about space flight. Lots of the more basic experiments are easily replicated during these link-ups, as the astronauts explain various aspects of space flight to the students. And, I don't know about you, but I'd be more entranced (and therefore more likely to pursue science/math studies and support space exploration and research) to watch some astronaut that I've just been talking with performing some simple experiment to demonstrate an answer to my question, reading about the same experiment in some dry textbook or even watching some tape of the experiment being performed on some other mission. It's PR and it's a way of developing more excitement about science.
Here's a link for y'all - NASA Spinoffs, which provides piles of information about various space-related research that has had direct effects on improving life here on earth (such as those basketball shoes with the air cushioning - a direct spinoff from the development of the Apollo moon-walking boots).
― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Friday, 23 January 2004 06:06 (twenty-two years ago)