NASA's Space Balloon Smashes Car In Australia 174
Humunculus writes "Of more worldly issues, NASA's latest multimillion-dollar stratosphere-bound balloon launch has gone horribly wrong and crashed into a car, turning it over and narrowly missing two elderly people who were observing the launch. The payload fared worse, reportedly being smashed into a 'thousand pieces.'"
First (Score:4, Funny)
First splat
No one was hurt? (Score:4, Funny)
The director of the Balloon Launching Centre, Professor Ravi Sood, says no one was hurt. But he says the scientists involved in the NASA-sponsored project are crushed.
It says right there, some NASA scientists were crushed in the accident.
I think the old couple needs to sue, sell chunks of their car on eBay, and retire rich!
NASA forgot (Score:5, Funny)
that Australia is upside down
In related news... (Score:5, Funny)
could someone translate from australian for me? (Score:5, Funny)
He said the balloon was then seen lying partially-inflated above a paddock "like a white Uluru".
what's a paddock?
and what is with the reference to an albino version of a star trek character?
i know you australians typically speak german like your neighbors to the north, but if you are going to write a story in the american language, try to more precise
thanks
Re:CRIKEY MATE (Score:4, Funny)
Rover! (Score:3, Funny)
Why did you think a big balloon would stop people?
Re:could someone translate from australian for me? (Score:5, Funny)
> Rife with typo's
Ah, the ireny.
oh yeah? what have you aussie's given the world? (Score:4, Funny)
freud, schwarzenegger, mozart, schrodinger...
ok, that's respectable
respect to you australians then
but you really should stick with your native german language
Re:In related news... (Score:5, Funny)
The lead baloon engineer....
Why was he trying to engineer a lead balloon? Didn't he watch that episode of MythBusters?
+1 for the Idiocracy (Score:4, Funny)
I remember when NASA could sling shot a satellite 40,000+ miles looping around a planet 32 times, ricochet of an asteroid and drop a golf ball in a cup of coffee in the middle of Denver blindfolded with both hands behind their back.
Now they can't remember to convert metric to imperial (and back again) and can't launch a ballon...
Damn NASA used to be the best and the brightest. I worry if we'll be able to feed ourselves by the end of the year :P
NASA's performance was once the measure of the USA's intellectual success... I'm worried... apparently more money on education doesn't = smarter people...
I mean come on it's not rocke...errr wait...
Re:could someone translate from australian for me? (Score:3, Funny)
Exactly. I can't understand any of this:
"That balloon was as large as the Melbourne Cricket Ground when fully inflated, carried a two-tonne payload and travelled in the outer edge of the atmosphere at 50 metres per second."
They should know that in the US the standard units of measurement are football fields for length or area, elephants for mass, lightning strikes for probability, NASCARs for speed, DVDs for data, and swimming pools for volume.
"Outer edge of the atmosphere"? How many Empire State Buildings up is that?
Re:In related news... (Score:3, Funny)
lead baloon
I think I figured out why the launch failed.
Re:could someone translate from australian for me? (Score:4, Funny)
Please turn in your card at the door.
Another hoax! (Score:3, Funny)
Was there a little boy in it? Is he OK??
Re:Another hoax! (Score:5, Funny)
you're so ignorant of history (Score:4, Funny)
austria before world war ii was known as the empire of austria-hungry
this was solved by the invasion of turkey
turkey is a delicious country, especially on thanksgiving day, which is the day turkey was able to remove the hungry part of the austro-hungryian empire
Re:First (Score:5, Funny)
Rather harsh punishment don't you think?
Re:CRIKEY MATE (Score:2, Funny)
I find this response insulting.
Australians do not drink Fosters!
It's for export only. Nothing is too bad for the rest of the world.
Not everyone has an Australians refined taste for wood alcohol. Most can't tell which car's radiator was used in producing the alcohol or how many hours old it is.
lol (Score:3, Funny)
you compare a country to a misspelling of its name and you have the audacity to question my grasp on geography?
put another shrimp on the barbie and go watch the sound of music kid, the part where crocodile dundee teaches julie andrew's eight kids how to sing
learn something before you spout your ignorance, stupid child
Whoosh? (Score:5, Funny)
It may be a bad day for balloon launches, but at least jokes seem to be flying right past some people.
Re:Whoosh? (Score:4, Funny)
It may be a bad day for balloon launches, but at least jokes seem to be flying right past some people.
Yup, unfortunately for NASA this story may yet balloon out of control or at least blown up out of proportion. Then again, I may just be full of hot air.