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Comment Re:Why? (Score 1) 572

The idea is that eventaully we will want a station in Geo synchronous orbit and that its cheaper to move this station from LEO to GSO than luanching parts up from earth. Not sure if this is true though.

Definitely not true... The amount of fuel required to move the ISS to GSO from LEO (26,000ish miles versus the 100-1200 miles it currently sits at) would be staggering. Keep in mind that it is a million pound object. At launch, the shuttle weighs almost 4.4 million pounds, but only weighs around 200,000 pounds in orbit. At best (really stretching it here), it would require 20 million pounds of fuel to move the ISS just a fraction of the 25,000 miles it needs to go in space using the same payload ratio as the shuttle. And you have to find a way to get that 20 million pounds of fuel into space. If the space shuttle were to complete this task, at 53,000 pounds of fuel (max payload shuttle can take), it would require 377 shuttle launches to get the fuel there. Each one of those shuttle launches would require 4 million pounds of fuel to get into LEO. Thats 1500 million pounds of fuel.

Comment Re:Why? (Score 1) 572

Really? I thought they attached a VASMIR ion engine onto the ISS for orbital correction maneuvers. Attach a few more, load up some fuel and go. You know, explosions not withstanding.

Orbital correction maneuvers are nothing compared to the delta v required to transfer the ISS into an orbit far enough away from earth to not cause problems. The VASMIR engines are really only good for high specific impulse any way (very efficient but with low thrust levels). The reason those are the orbital correction motors is for this reason, it requires much less fuel weight and the manuevers require relatively low thrust. Also, adding more engines is only going to add more weight, which will require more fuel, which will be more weight... so then you will need more engines, then more fuel for those engines... this gets out of control very quickly. Believe it or not, there is a reason they brought the space station into space in pieces and assembled it there. There isn't realistically enough propulsion to move an object that large more than a few kilometers at a time.

Comment 2010 Bachelors = 1980 High School Diploma (Score 1) 330

I'm not sure how it was back in the 80's but as a recent graduate (2010) and current Graduate Student in engineering, with the job field how it is now, you need minimum a 3.5 GPA to even consider getting a decent job straight out of undergrad. A masters is the only other way to really search for a job. Otherwise, you can really only count on 1 or 2 job offers coming out of college, both of which will involve some sort of CAD or low level programming. In my graduating class, i know of at least 3 people who should not have graduated but skirted some of the requirements because of solely who they knew. IMO that downgrades my degree. The Bachelor's degree is turning into a high school diploma.

Comment Re:WTF? (Score 1) 204

How can replacing thousands of expensive centrifuges be cheaper than replacing the infected computers??!! Dude, WTF?!

Because the worm was designed to destroy the centrifuges. The worm fed signals to the centrifuges that made them operate beyond their operating capabilities, effectively destroying them

Comment Re:Giant Space Ocean? (Score 1) 183

Not so much an "ocean"; the water is in the form of vapor, not liquid. It doesn't even look like a cloud, which is condensed water droplets. The density is most likely lower than the best vacuum we've ever pulled on earth. It's a lot of water, but a LOT of space.

So it's not really a large source of water, but rather a large gathering of water...?

Comment How they justify this... (Score 1) 521

They say this will cut down on crime, but criminals who don't want to get found will just use fake license plates, and then this just becomes another burden on the taxpayer. Honestly, I can't figure out why anyone would want to live in Massachussets or San Franscisco with the wacky laws they are implementing in those areas.

Comment Still a good deal (Score 1) 574

Cable still charges an arm and a leg. And personally, I prefer to watch a show from start to finish, one episode after another. Not really something you can do with cable which has commercials and you have to wait week to week for new episodes. Netflix still beats cable IMHO.

Comment Re:counting unhatched chickens (Score 1) 108

launching into space and coming back safely is nothing short of a miracle to begin with. NASA did a spectacular job having the success rate they did. Unfortunately, in that industry, minor flaws immediately become major issues. if you get a flat tire while driving your car, you call AAA. if your engine won't start while parked in LEO, you are stuck. If a crack forms in a booster during launch, thats it, good night. The fact that that particular incident only occurred once should be seen as a feat, not a death trap. Over a 30 year span, there were exactly 2 major incidents, I'd say thats pretty good. Some people are invloved in car accidents more than twice a year.

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