Another space first... ruined

[Rover_Wow]

First, McAuliffe was supposed to be first astronaut from the civilian sector with Challenger's '86 mission, and then it blew up.
Then, confusion over units killed what was supposed to be the first interplanetary weather satellite (and the first probe to deliberately use aerobraking), some Martian weather satellite.
A few weeks later, there was no signal from what was supposed to be the first probe to carry sound from another planet (Mars again).
And just yesterday, another space first was ruined, as a stunt pilot never got the chance to make the first ever catch of a man made object from outer space, as the parachute that was meant to carry Genesis never opened. Meaning that there was no parachute for stunt pilot to snag. Meanwhile, NASA is concerned that 3 years of collection have come to zip as a result of the crash.

[Squall]

When you're a pioneer, everything you do is taking a risk. These actions won't always have happy endings. If you want to give up on NASA, or space exploration in general, because things don't always go as they should, then humanity would be stuck on Earth forever... Do you really want that?

[tucsoncoyote]

THUD!
Ooos... we goofed!

ah well that's NASA for ya...better space exploration through Crashing!

:coyote:

[Alaskanbullworm]

Like my Astronomy teacher said, the failures are known more than the successes. Although with money constraints in the past years, you can expect some things like this. For example, for some satellite around Jupiter, they used a satellite dish, used for a previous mission, that didn't work right. Luckily they had another old one already out there to give info to that to skip it to Earth.

[Rover_Wow]

From Xinhuanet, of all places:
The solar material kept inside the Genesis space capsule, which crashed in the Utah desert on Wednesday after two parachutes failed to open, was intact and most scientific objectives were within reach, said NASA engineers on Friday.

"We should be able to meet most if not all of our primary science goals," Roger Wiens, a key scientist on the project, said at a telephone news conference. "Overall, we're quite confident that we can achieve a high degree of success from a science point of view," according to Reuters' report.

Scientists made the conclusion after checking the wreckage from the Genesis space capsule with mirrors and flashlights. The damaged spacecraft was lifted out of its crater by helicopter and moved to a sterile "clean room" on the Army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah following the crash.

"There is serious soil contamination from the Dugway area," said Don Burnett, principal investigator for the $264 million Genesis mission. He said attempts to recover the samples would begin after the craft is fully opened and secured.

[Artimus Gigan]

Well in space...no one can hear you fail....

[Discloner]

With something as harsh and unknown as Space, you can't predict everything. NASA is just like the rest of us in the sense that they can't prodict the future and solve every problem before it happens. Even if NASA had known about something being wrong with the explosion devices that launch the parachute, they probably still couldn't have done anything to correct the problem befoer it crashed.

NASA should, and probably will, be more focused on getting that air generator in the INS up and running again before committing more resources to salvaging the parts of the Genisis. Good to know not all is a waste and atleast some scientific reasearch from the prob will be salvaged and used.

[Czar Gato]

Hey, I'm just glad no one died this time.

[wrenchien]

call the next one exodus. and have moses pilot it. SURE SUCESS.

[Artimus Gigan]

call the next one exodus. and have moses pilot it. SURE SUCESS.You mean Florecent Exodus Bananagelion?


get it florecent instead of neon and Exodus instead of Genesis and Bananagelion is the Eva Monkey Robot...No, okay!

Really though rocket science is essentialy this, load a cylander with enough explosive liquid to get it off the ground and hope it stays off the ground...

the boosters just generate insane ammounts of thrust, you can't really control where you are flying once the ship takes off. Essentialy it's like firing a rock from a slingshot, you can aim it, but it won't always get it's target.

[tucsoncoyote]

Well in space...no one can hear you fail....Except when you impact the ground upon re-entry at 200 MPH Artimus!:D

THUD!
:coyote:

[tucsoncoyote]

Hey, I'm just glad no one died this time.True there Czar... but oh those Solar atom particles.. Ouch ouch ouch.. they're bruised!

:coyote: