Astra 1K Communications Satellite now Space Junk 246
bachelor#3 writes "Astra 1K, which was to replace 3 other satellites, didn't make it. Launch services were being provided by International Launch Services. Here's a timeline, from T-minus 30 minutes onwards."
Alcatel. (Score:5, Insightful)
(ddaadaataaday! wee! look at me, I'm waiting for my 2-minute-filter to wear! ladeedaa)
Space Junk is like Earth Junk (Score:3, Insightful)
When future generations look at the stars, do we want them to dream about soaring like gods to other planets, or do we want them to think that space is just a place we put all of our shit?
Funny... (Score:1, Insightful)
This guy Kreidenko doesn't even know what the ingredients are and says there's no danger. I wonder if he'll feel the same way when the nuclear reactor lands in his front yard and makes a big brown spot in his lawn.
Shuttle Reliability (Score:3, Insightful)
If/when there is a failure, will the statisticians go, "Yup, that's about what we expected?" If the shuttle beats or falls short of its reliability prediction, does that make it a good or bad craft? I'm talking about perceptions here, not objectivity. It's a lot easier to be sober about failures of unmanned rockets.
It looks like we'll be talking seriously about what's going to replace the shuttle in just a few years. This could be good or bad for reliability -- while we've learned a lot, we have to admire the track record of the boring old Soyuz.
Re:Here's why not (Score:3, Insightful)
>1) The space shuttle fleet is fully booked for the foreseeable future, mostly on space station stuff.
Columbia is sitting at KSC without anything to do. It has one mission left on the books, then they're not sure what to do with it. It is too heavy to make it to the space station with any useful cargo.
However, it would still be highly inadvisable to go chasing this satellite for the rest of the reasons you mentioned. That third stage is essentially an undetonated bomb, poking and proding it during an EVA would be unwise.
Space Salvage Rights (Score:4, Insightful)