Space Stations: Past, Present, And Future

[octave]

[Old Koreelah]

Thanks for posting, Octave. Good to see so many projects in the works.

 

He didn't mention several different initiatives to remove space junk, perhaps the major danger faced by space stations. Most proposals seem to focus on de-orbiting the debris and letting it burn up on re-entry.

 

What a waste.

 

Considering the massive cost of getting each kg of material up there in the first place, a smarter solution would surely be to collect it all up and remanufacture new hardware in space.

 

 

[octave]

Considering the massive cost of getting each kg of material up there in the first place, a smarter solution would surely be to collect it all up and remanufacture new hardware in space

I was watching a short youtube doco on food aboard the ISS, apparently, when a new shipment arrives they get some goodies like fresh fruit, it has been calculated that it cost $10000 to get one apple to the ISS. It is estimated that the cost of the entire station is $160 Billion dollars, the most expensive machine ever built.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I wonder how much work is being done to develop food production in space? Reducing the amount of food that has to be freighed up there might save squillions.

 

Matt Damon did it on Mars, so it must be easy...

 

 

[octave]

I wonder how much work is being done to develop food production in space? Reducing the amount of food that has to be freighed up there might save squillions.Matt Damon did it on Mars, so it must be easy...

I was going to jokingly suggest potatoes but it seems the answer is at least to some degree potatoes.

 

NASA Plant Researchers Explore Question of Deep-Space Food Crops

 

 

[nomadpete]

I won't believe any of this talk about space stations until they allocate a postcode for one.

 

 

[facthunter]

Anywhere but here Is subject to cosmic rays and all sorts of other deadly radiation. Anything you take to MARS is only going to be useful until it fails. No one will come back.. I like it here. Lets fix it up a bit and look after it as we should. we have evolved to it's conditions over a B***y long time, like every other thing that's alive today.

 

The orbiting space junk is now a big danger. to spacecraft. Even a chip of paint can kill you at the sorts of speeds they are going at, if you are outside. It doesn't take us long to fill everywhere we go with rubbish. Just chuck it and leave it for others to clean up. Bunch of little charmers aren't we?. We don't deserve a planet. Nev

 

 

[octave]

Anywhere but here Is subject to cosmic rays and all sorts of other deadly radiation. Anything you take to MARS is only going to be useful until it fails. No one will come back.. I like it here. Lets fix it up a bit and look after it as we should. we have evolved to it's conditions over a B***y long time, like every other thing that's alive today.The orbiting space junk is now a big danger. to spacecraft. Even a chip of paint can kill you at the sorts of speeds they are going at, if you are outside. It doesn't take us long to fill everywhere we go with rubbish. Just chuck it and leave it for others to clean up. Bunch of little charmers aren't we?. We don't deserve a planet. Nev

 

I guess it is a matter of personal philosophy. We are essentially doomed, our time will be up one way or another. Human existence is really about finding something interesting to do until the end. Some people like us like to fly little aeroplanes which is a useless activity in the whole scheme of things. You could say of almost all human activities "we should not waste time or money on it until we fix all other problems". Sport, art, travel, literature etc are not strictly useful although people enjoy occupying their time with these activities. Although it is extremely unlikely that I will travel to Mars or even into earth orbit just as I probably won't go to Antarctica but I am glad I can experience it vicariously. If we were to draw up a list of activities to cease doing until we totally fixed up all the other problems I suspect that space exploration would be way down the bottom given the small expenditure (and massive indirect benefits). I vote to abolish sport, warfare and folk dancing until we fix everything else up.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

I don’t understand sport. It is the greatest waste of time and resources on the planet. There may be some health benefits from modest non-violent involvement, but watching it?

 

 

[nomadpete]

Octave,

 

If only we could "abolish sport, warfare and folk dancing ",

 

That would pretty much fix everything else up!

 

 

[Cosmick]

It would be a lot cheaper and beneficial to transform some of the Earths arid regions into productive areas.

 

 

[facthunter]

Organized sport seems to damage your basic reasoning thought processes. There's plenty of evidence for it. Perhaps it falls into the category of "Opium for the Masses". or replaces religion etc. Nev

 

 

[Bruce]

I reckon military stuff is the worst waste and if we could abolish it we could maybe save the planet. Sport is small in comparison.

 

A big challenge is what to do with the unemployed, their mental health requires some occupation and sport would be a part of the solution. Not that anybody seems to care ... the chimps at Monarto Zoo have attention given to their mental health, but nothing for the unemployed people.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I avoid watching sport like the plague; it's become chewing gum for the masses and a hunting ground for the gambling mafia. If more of us actually played sport (proper amateur sport, not paid win-at-all-cost gladiatorial contests) perhaps there'd be less conflict.

 

It would be a lot cheaper and beneficial to transform some of the Earths arid regions into productive areas.

Must every inch of planet be "productive"? Presumably this means it needs to be useful for our species.

 

Humankind has already overrun and (buggered up) most of our planet. Can't we leave just a few bits alone?

 

Our deserts are already productive; they provide life for quite a range of life forms, including some humans.

 

 

[spacesailor]

"There may be some health benefits from modest non-violent involvement "

 

The first recorded football match, (soccer) Was the uppers one The lowers nil, and no deaths.

 

It replaced the Warfare of a village in England.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[nomadpete]

But look at what it has morphed into!

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Hmmm. I've always been intrigued by the differences in crowd behaviour of the different football codes.

 

In rugby league, all the violence is on the field and crowds go peacefully home.

 

Soccer seems to develop so much pent-up frustration that all the violence happens after the game is over.

 

 

[Bruce]

That may be because with soccer, the wrong team sometimes wins. The goal is so small that there is a big amount of luck in who wins.

 

For years, I thought that this was because of stupidity, but then found it was deliberate. The supporters of poor teams sometimes get a win.

 

 

[Yenn]

OK All the violence is not on the field. We are hearing now that the code has let down its players, because it did not teach them not to be violent towards women. There seems to be a court case pending. Then if a well known player denigrates homosexuals, by quoting the Bible on facebook he looks as if he is going to be sacked from playing. For years football players seem to be above the law, they get involved in brawls and there is no police action, only a slap on the wrist from the sporting body. Who do they think they are? Politicians / Clergy?

 

 

[octave]

sigh, I mentioned sport and the other things to make the point that essentially all human activities are in some way pointless whether it be interplanetary research or stamp collecting. I was not particularly making a point about sport. Although I do agree with most of the points made. Now, what about folk dancing.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

OK All the violence is not on the field...

Bugger!

 

There goes another cherished prejudice!

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Morris dancing should be punishable by death. I think there is hope to correct the thinking of square dancers, perhaps in a labour camp.

 

 

[Bruce]

There is a great activity sometimes called horizontal folk dancing....

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Anyhow, back to Space Stations: a good news story.

 

The lessons learned by our cosmonauts and astronauts might help save Mother Earth. Their tiny space craft have to provide all their survival needs; hence the concept of Spaceship Earth. We cannot survive if the systems aboard our spacecraft fail. Space stations depend on recycling most of their water.

 

One enterprising farmer is applying space station efficiency to his food operation here on earth.

 

Could vegetables grown in an aquaponic system be the way of the future?

 

 

[facthunter]

Most of your tomatoes are now grown this way. Trouble is they taste like $#1T. It ignores an the soil microbes that break down soil elements and release complex nutrients. Nature is far more complex than we give it credit for. We imagine there's a PILL for everything.. It's never that simple. Nev