Do the exteriors of the ISS windows ever get cleaned? Some of the photos taken through them look a bit spotted (like this one).
Comparing the baselines for upcoming flights, I don't understand the plan for the SGANTs. STS-127 is bringing up a spare SGANT (stored on ESP-3). STS-132 is bringing up another SGANT, SGANT boom and has an EVA task for installing both on Z1. Is the STS-132 objective to replace the current SGANT on Z1 or install a second SGANT while leaving the current one untouched? If replacing the current one, I didn't see a uninstall task anywhere - is that a stage EVA objective? If installing a second SGANT, does this alleviate the no-KU periods caused by structural blockage? If installing a second SGANT, will both be managed concurrently or will one be a hot backup?
Why don't they measure the weight of ISS by means of F=ma if the force applied by reboost thrusters is known and you measurecd the acceleration then it would be no problem to deduce the mass of the station. So why calculate the mass for every kg brought to the US when measuring would be so easy...
Do the CMGs rely only on the mass estimates or do the have some kind of control feedback loop with accelorameters? i had thought that a lot of the the attitude control and other parts of spacecraft conrtol could be done with feedback loops and acceleration meassurement, maybe meassuring on different parts of the spacecraft. If it is based on calculation rather then direct measurement, does this practice have it's roots in the age of the technology involved which for the most part was established many years before small accurate acceleration sensors became available?
I've a kind of silly question I've been thinking about for years.Can a human propel himself backwards by blowing as strong as he can when in zero-g? i mean he definitely can to some extent otherwise F=ma wouldn't be true, but is it enough so that one feels it?
Can a human propel himself backwards by blowing as strong as he can when in zero-g? i mean he definitely can to some extent otherwise F=ma wouldn't be true, but is it enough so that one feels it?
I doubt burritos would work better though, even if it were pure methane the flame wouldn't speed up the molecules in one particular direction
Sorry to break into the "fun with methane" discussion , but I was wondering can individual modules be remotely depressurized? For example, if there is a hull breach in Destiny, can Unity be depressurized in order to ingress Destiny and make repairs?
Quote from: NavySpaceFan on 04/22/2009 05:29 pmSorry to break into the "fun with methane" discussion , but I was wondering can individual modules be remotely depressurized? For example, if there is a hull breach in Destiny, can Unity be depressurized in order to ingress Destiny and make repairs?The only module with that capability always activated is the US Lab. Columbus and JPM contain that capability that would require some software configuration and the US Airlock would require crew action to reconfigure. Node 1, Node 2 and the Russian Segment do not have the automated capability to do so. There's always ways you could do this manually, but that's complex and not very attractive from the consummables standpoint.