Space-junk hits Earth

[OCGuy]

Does this qualify?






CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? A refrigerator-sized piece of space junk fell harmlessly into the South Pacific Sunday night, according to NASA.

The junk was a tank full of ammonia coolant on the international space station that was no longer needed. Astronaut Clayton Anderson threw it overboard during a spacewalk in July 2007.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081103/ap_on_sc/space_junk

 

[daveymark]

took almost a year and a half for it to fall into the south pacific? I didn't realize the earth was that tall

 

[RadiclDreamer]

So they just throw shit and hope it doesnt hit someone? What if it hit an orphanage?

 

[meltdown75]

holy crap that took a while to get down here.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
So they just throw shit and hope it doesnt hit someone? What if it hit an orphanage?

population controll

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

that will never happen

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
Does this qualify?






CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? A refrigerator-sized piece of space junk fell harmlessly into the South Pacific Sunday night, according to NASA.

The junk was a tank full of ammonia coolant on the international space station that was no longer needed. Astronaut Clayton Anderson threw it overboard during a spacewalk in July 2007.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081103/ap_on_sc/space_junk

im more concerned with the coolant still inside... if there was any left at impact...
locally polluted ocean.

 

[sactoking]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
Does this qualify?






CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? A refrigerator-sized piece of space junk

Refrigerator >= Alternator, so yes.

 

[mundane]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

1) The ratio of surface area vs. populated area is huge
2) If you put it in a degrading orbit (terminology?), you won't have the debris field. It's only when the shit ends up in a more-or-less stable orbit that we get said field.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
holy crap that took a while to get down here.

Decaying orbit? Would explain why the thing didn't burn up... all though it was full of coolant :shocked:

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

everything gets thrown away. explosive bolts send shrapnel everywhere, bags of human waste are chucked out the window, broken parts, entire rockets and payload housings, everything gets tossed. depending on speed, direction and altitude, space junk can last hours or years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iOkAlkZT4w

 

[RichardE]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

that will never happen

Neither will flying.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: RichardE

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

that will never happen

Neither will flying.

To be fair, he did say perfect. We will never perfect flying, either.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: RichardE

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

that will never happen

Neither will flying.

To be fair, he did say perfect. We will never perfect flying, either.

let me know when walking is perfected

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: RichardE

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

that will never happen

Neither will flying.

To be fair, he did say perfect. We will never perfect flying, either.

let me know when walking is perfected

If walking requires engineers and millions of dollars in research, sure.
Though I guess shoe companies would like us to believe it does.

 

[techs]

The sky IS falling.

 

[Cattlegod]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

everything gets thrown away. explosive bolts send shrapnel everywhere, bags of human waste are chucked out the window, broken parts, entire rockets and payload housings, everything gets tossed. depending on speed, direction and altitude, space junk can last hours or years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iOkAlkZT4w

I can't wait to get hit in the face by a two year old frozen turd from outer space.

 

[Newbian]

I am still waiting for them to toss me some space porn down.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Newbian
I am still waiting for them to toss me some space porn down.

Best part from Family Guy last night...

Peter talking about whacking off in space while on his space joyride, and commenting "eventually it was like a snow globe"
:laugh:

 

[So]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: RichardE

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

that will never happen

Neither will flying.

To be fair, he did say perfect. We will never perfect flying, either.

let me know when walking is perfected

If walking requires engineers and millions of dollars in research, sure.
Though I guess shoe companies would like us to believe it does.

The fact is, we have the technology (on paper), TODAY, to colonize the entire solar system and to send robotic probes to alpha centauri that would send back video (granted, it'd be a 100year+ trip to AC) but it would require spending real money on it, not the current pocket change we throw at it (we spend more on the department of housing and urban development).

 

[compuwiz1]

So now in order to qualify as "bulk" space junk, it must be "refrigerator sized". :laugh:

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1
So now in order to qualify as "bulk" space junk, it must be "refrigerator sized". :laugh:

1,000 lbs isn't bulk.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: RichardE

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wait...so when they don't need crap anymore they just throw it back to Earth? Isn't it entirely possible for someone to get hit by a tank of coolant falling from the sky? And it looks like we're going to have a pretty nasty man-made debris field around our planet to hamper navigation once we perfect space travel...

that will never happen

Neither will flying.

To be fair, he did say perfect. We will never perfect flying, either.

let me know when walking is perfected

If walking requires engineers and millions of dollars in research, sure.
Though I guess shoe companies would like us to believe it does.

The fact is, we have the technology (on paper), TODAY, to colonize the entire solar system and to send robotic probes to alpha centauri that would send back video (granted, it'd be a 100year+ trip to AC) but it would require spending real money on it, not the current pocket change we throw at it (we spend more on the department of housing and urban development).

Not saying I disagree with you, because I as well would rather switch the budgets of housing and urban development and NASA. Hell I would rather devote 50% of our tax dollar to scientific research with 1/2 of that going to space travel/exploration/etc. (btw if your sarcasm meter is broken that was a sarcastic statement. Although I do believe we should cut back on other expenses and increase scientific)

I have a question for you though. Do you propose we stop spending money on housing and urban dev and instead put that all to science, or were you simply using that to illustrate your point that we could and should spend more on NASA? I assume #2 of those options.

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: compuwiz1
So now in order to qualify as "bulk" space junk, it must be "refrigerator sized". :laugh:

1,000 lbs isn't bulk.

It would sure feel like bulk if it hit you in the head! :laugh: