Space Shuttle Launch

This is a space shuttle launch as viewed by an observer in a comercial airliner. Air Canada actually....I think it is pretty freaking cool.

In order for the space suttle to reach orbit if must attain a velocity of at least 7 miles per second, which is just over 25,000 miles per hour...no, that is not a mistype. Not only that, but the Shuttle weighs 165,000 pounds, the external tank weighs 78,000 pounds and its two solid rocket boosters weigh 185,000 pounds. All of that is before fuel is added.

EACH (there are 2) of the solid rocket boosters hold 1.1 million pounds of fuel. The external tank holds 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (1,359,000 pounds) and 383,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen (226,000 pounds). After all is said and done, the total weight at liftoff is about 4.4 MILLION pounds, that has to reach a speed of 25,000 miles per hour. What a world.

(Hi, Rachel here. Dan didn't have sound at work when he posted this, and didn't know that there is a swear word. So, just be warned...the sound adds nothing, it's just a guy being amazed, so turn it off while watching this movie.)



here is a more...up close and personal view.



(QUEUE RANTING)

I know alot of people, wonder as to why this is important. Why spend the money, why risk life for it? My initial answer to that is "because it is freaking awesome" but that just doesn't seem to hold any weight.

Let me quote what NASA itself has to say about that very topic.

"Technology transfer, the practice of moving inventions and processes from one field of human endeavor into another, is at the core of NASA's existence. Starting in 1915, NASA's predecessor, NACA, was given a Congressional mandate to "...supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight, with a view to their practical solution, and to determine the problems which should be experimentally attacked, and to discuss their solution and their application to practical questions" (Public Law 63-271). NACA's discoveries and inventions were made available to airplane builders and to the public. When NASA was founded in 1958, the practice continued.

Devices and techniques from the Space Age continue to make our lives better. Some NASA programs that were great contributions to the betterment of life on Earth have been spun off from NASA, but continue under new management. Many satellites are operated by private enterprises, especially communications satellites. Weather satellites are run by NOAA, and many remote sensing satellites, like Landsat, are shared by NASA and the Department of the Interior."

Not good enough? OK...here are some examples of things that came about becasue of NASA's research.

Hubble Telescope - NASA created and implimented the Hubble Space Telescope (yes..it had some initial issue, but it now works perfectly). First off, Hubble has helped us learn more about the universe than any previous telescope...for decades it has provided tools that never existed previously. One intersting spin off of the Hubble is what is call the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) chip. "What is that?!" you say? Every digital camera in the world (and actually...everything that takes digital images) uses a CCD. So, you can thank NASA and the space program for your digital cameras. NASA also did something else special with the CCD. They made Mammograms possible. Every woman who has been saved because of a mammogram can thank NASA for her life.

ENRICHED BABY FOOD - A microalgae-based, vegetable-like oil called Formulaid developed from NASA-sponsored research on long duration space travel, contains two essential fatty acids found in human milk but not in most baby formulas, believed to be important for infants' mental and visual development.

WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM - NASA-developed municipal-size water treatment system for developing nations, called the Regenerable Biocide Delivery Unit, uses iodine rather than chlorine to kill bacteria.

SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES - A modified version of a dual ion beam bonding process developed by NASA involves coating the lenses with a film of diamond-like carbon that not only provides scratch resistance, but also decreases surface friction, reducing water spots.

SOLAR ENERGY - NASA-pioneered photovoltaic power system for spacecraft applications was applied to programs to expand terrestrial applications as a viable alternative energy source in areas where no conventional power source exists.

LASER ANGIOPLASTY - Laser angioplasty with a "cool" type of laser, caller an excimer laser, does not damage blood vessel walls and offers precise non-surgical cleanings of clogged arteries with extraordinary precision and fewer complications than in balloon angioplasty.

MEDICAL GAS ANALYZER - Astronaut-monitoring technology used to develop system to monitor operating rooms for analysis of anesthetic gasses and measurement of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen concentrations to assure proper breathing environment for surgery patients.

FIREMAN'S AIR TANKS - Lighter-weight firefighter's air tanks have been developed. New back-pack system weighs only 20 lbs. for 30 minute air supply, 13 lbs. less than conventional firefighting tanks. They are pressurized at 4,500 psia (twice current tanks). A warning device tells the fireman when he or she is running out of air.

This is a small protion of things that exist ONLY becasue NASA exists. Is that good enough?