Space

Right in the middle of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission I figured it was a fitting time to make a thread on space and space exploration since it is the ......final frontier ;D

https://moon.nasa.gov/system/resourc...alute_1200.jpg

So here's to Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins of the Apollo 11 mission and their successful voyage from the Earth to the Moon and back. Here's to all those whose hard work made it happen, granted a few of the major helpers had a long and storied history in helping the Nazi's develop the V2 rocket program and that cannot be dismissed or forgotten.

And I don't want this thread to be about ONLY American Astronauts either, the Soviet Cosmonauts were complete badasses as well who deserve their dues and their rocket program likewise had a dark beginning with ties to similarly surrendered/captured Nazi scientists. The Soviet space program was very secretive and lead to the Space Race where the USA and USSR went head to head in attempting to achieve as many goals as possible for the advancement of rocket technology, scientific experiments, and of course space exploration.


Please use this thread to post anything relevant to space, the space race, rocketry, and the like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo

Don’t forget England’s long history in space

I've been a welcomed guest to see 2 shuttle launches as my parents knew one of the Astronauts personally and he was kind enough to extend an invitation. It is awe inspiring to be as close as anyone would really want to be to a shuttle launch. You not only hear the roar of the booster rockets, you feel the rumble of them, and the heat even though you're like 4 miles from the launch pad. It is one of those life experiences I hope never to forget.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuYoYl5kyVE

The stands you see in the video is where I saw the launches from.


The SRBS (solid rocket boosters) provide the initial power to break gravity's hold on the vessel. Each SRB on it's own contains 450,000 KG of propellant and together they provide 5,300,000 pounds of thrust. Once their propellant is burned off they are jettisoned at approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) altitude and parachute back to Earth landing in the Atlantic Ocean where they are recovered.

The external fuel tank (the big red thing in the middle there) contains 526,126 gallons (1,585,379 pounds) of liquid propellant (Oxygen and Hydrogen). That fuel is used up as the shuttle reaches around 113 kilometers (70 miles) above the Earth. After it is empty, the external tank is jettisoned so that it it burns up on re-entry and what is left falls harmlessly onto the ocean.

Was quite fond of the Space Shuttle years myself. Closest I got to an actual operational Shuttle was seeing one piggybacked on a 747 and land in Houston on its way back to Cape Canaveral for another launch.