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Agamemnon

Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 907 Location: Studying somewhere. Or at least that's where I should be.
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:44 am Post subject: Space Shuttle News - Duct Tape....that's right, Duct tape! |
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NASA Mulls Duct-Tape Fix for Space Shuttle Problems
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Even in space, a little duct tape may work wonders.
Astronaut Piers Sellers suggested using some of the multipurpose sticky material to fix a safety-jet backpack used during spacewalks after it almost came loose from him while he repaired the international space station.
"Right now, is there some kind of tape fix that you guys could think about that would be helpful?" Sellers asked Mission Control Tuesday morning, a day after the propulsive backpack started to come loose during his spacewalk with astronaut Mike Fossum.
Fossum had to tether the device to Sellers to keep it from flying away.
The jet backpack, nicknamed SAFER, is worn by every astronaut during a spacewalk. It allows an astronaut to propel himself or herself to safety in an emergency, for instance if a tether or foot restraint holding the astronaut in place breaks.
The two connecting devices of Sellers' backpack attachment, designed to be used if an astronaut floats free, loosened at different times, but he was never in danger of losing it, NASA officials said.
Sellers and Fossum were to make three spacewalks during space shuttle Discovery's 13-day mission to the space station, which ends next Monday.
During the second spacewalk on Monday, the spacewalkers replaced a cable reel to a rail car needed to move large pieces around the space station and installed a pump compartment for the complex's cooling system.
"That was a great [spacewalk] and it showed that Aggies can be taught to work locks, latches and anything else," flight controllers wrote in their daily morning electronic message to Discovery's crew, referring to Fossum, a graduate of Texas A&M. "Miracles never cease."
Discovery pilot Mark Kelly, who helped choreograph the spacewalk from inside the space station, told Houston he thinks the latches on Sellers' backpack came undone inside the shuttle's crowded payload bay.
"It's surprising that it did happen, but he's bumping a lot around in there," Kelly said Tuesday.
For Wednesday's spacewalk, the astronauts planned to test whether a sealant can be used to repair damaged pieces of the space shuttle's thermal protection system. The technique was developed to make sure there's never a repeat of the Columbia accident that killed seven astronauts in 2003.
The six astronauts of Discovery, along with the three space station crew members, planned to spend most of Tuesday packing up science experiments, trash and unneeded equipment to take back to Earth. They awoke to a recording of Smash Mouth's "All Star" chosen by the family of astronaut Lisa Nowak.
Flight controllers in their electronic message praised the crew for transferring cargo so quickly.
"Transfer is going so well, we thought about giving you a bunch of time off," they said, "but then after the laughter died down, we actually did decide to reduce transfer a few hours today." _________________ -Agamemnon.....but you can call me Jake.
P: They don't know we know they know we know. And Joey, you can't say anything!
J: Couldn't if I wanted to. |
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Zenom

Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 87 Location: The middle of infinity
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:50 am Post subject: |
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Well I guess that just goes to show that duct tape really can be used for anything. |
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bun bun Guest
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:59 am Post subject: |
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that reminds me of the old joke about the american versus russian space programs, how the americans spent years and years trying to design a ballpoint pen that works in space, thousands of dollars developing the thing, and the russians used a pencil. |
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Lasairfiona

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 9718 Location: I have to be somewhere? ::runs around frantically::
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:16 am Post subject: |
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DUCT TAPE!!!! Isn't it awesome? _________________ Before God created Las he pondered on all the aspects a woman might have, he considered which ones would look good super-inflated and which ones to leave alone.
After much deliberation he gave her a giant comfort zone. - Michael |
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Michael

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 11066
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:33 am Post subject: |
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I don't think I'd go into space without a roll of gaffer |
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Azmoten

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 2211 Location: St. Louis
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:44 am Post subject: |
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Duct tape fixes dern near everything. _________________ "Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."
-Solid Jackson (From Jingo, by Terry Pratchett) |
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timmccloud

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 633 Location: Marshall, Wisconsin
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:14 am Post subject: |
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Duct Tape saved the lives of the astronauts from Apollo 13, and since then no NASA manned space mission has left earth without 3 rolls.
Duct Tape. Live it, love it, use it. _________________ Wow. Tatsuya is god. Or the dragon... |
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M.I.C.H.A.L.

Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 13
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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I can see the thoughts floating around at mission control.
....
 _________________ "Him who mountain crush him no." |
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John Mytton

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 607
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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bun bun wrote: | that reminds me of the old joke about the american versus russian space programs, how the americans spent years and years trying to design a ballpoint pen that works in space, thousands of dollars developing the thing, and the russians used a pencil. |
Actually, the Space Pen was developed privately, and there's a genuine concern about the issue. A pencil creates dust and (if it is a wooden pencil) shavings that, in the weightless enviroment of space, could be sucked into ventilation or float into someone's eyes or nostrils or mouth. |
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Sam

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 11230
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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Microgravity should be super-awesome, but it really just turns out to be a pain in the ass.
Lame, science, break some more of my dreams whydoncha. |
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The Victim Here

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 2905 Location: Wed May 05, 2004 8:27 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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Duct tape; Good for tieing up enemies to chairs or fixing jet packs.
Why don't you buy some? _________________ Colours? What colours? |
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nathan

Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 6316
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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Sam wrote: | Microgravity should be super-awesome, but it really just turns out to be a pain in the ass.
Lame, science, break some more of my dreams whydoncha. |
That's why we all switched to macrogravity YEARS ago.
Jesus, you're so unhip. I'm gonna have to go take a shower just to wash off the emotional grime of having to explain this shit to you. _________________ Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil. ~ Ellen Degeneres |
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jwing

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 2268
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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If I promise to scrub your back, would you explain macrogravity to me? I've never heard of it. |
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WheelsOfConfusion

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 14324 Location: Unknown Kaddath
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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Trademarks be damned, I refuse to call it anything other than "duck tape." |
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JohnnyStrider

Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 1619 Location: The Northeast Coast
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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"If you can't duck it, fuck it."
The line doesn't work with duct! |
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