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Tim Peake's Return to Earth on NASA TV Now

DRT

By DRT
in The Astro Lounge

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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I have to admire the way the Russians (or ESA people) dealt with the landing capsule being on its side. Did they bring in a big crane to right it?.

They sure didnt. They just got about 12 people and pushed it til it went the right way up.

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Alan White

Alan White

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Watched this in day time, because life got in the way.

Great achievement.

Great that the UK funded Tim Peake and that we had an official UK astronaut.

It must have been very mixed emotions for him to return knowing he was unlikely to ever return.

However it made me sad for him and us, he is unlikely to return to orbit without funding and we the space watchers of the UK will have a long wait for another home grown astronaut.  

 

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lukebl

lukebl

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Great stuff. It's a shame, though, that they have to return home in such a primitive Heath Robinsonish fashion. Unlike the good old days of the space shuttle.

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lukebl

lukebl

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11 minutes ago, Physopto said:

Yes well the space shuttle wasn't that safe was it? Rather safe and Heath Robinson than roasted alive!

Yes, you're right. I'd completely forgotten about that.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Watched this in day time, because life got in the way.

Great achievement.

Great that the UK funded Tim Peake and that we had an official UK astronaut.

It must have been very mixed emotions for him to return knowing he was unlikely to ever return.

However it made me sad for him and us, he is unlikely to return to orbit without funding and we the space watchers of the UK will have a long wait for another home grown astronaut.  

 

There was mention today that future missions into orbit and the ISS could use astronauts who have already been trained and have done a mission before because it is so costly and takes many yrs to train new astronauts. The likes of Tim and others could be called upon in the future because they would only have to train for the specific mission/job at hand. This would mean less time training and less cost to space agencies. 

Makes sense really.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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17 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

Low tech usually means less to go wrong I think I myself would opt for the rusty Russian capsule every time.

Alan

I agree. Not very much can go wrong when you are through the atmosphere and a HUGE parachute opens up to slow you down (to a bone shattering 30m/p/h). It was said today that the shuttle was way over-engineered and had so many systems that could fail at any moment......even when through the atmosphere (as we have sadly seen before). 

I couldnt believe when i heard that the Soyuz parachute is about 900-1000 metres sq. Thats as big, if not slightly bigger then the sq ft of my house.

Hats of to Sky News this morning for their live coverage. They showed pretty much everything NASA TV showed and they had interviews with all the right people. They didnt interview people who have just a passing interest in space travel etc. They talked to astronauts in training,mission specialists etc. I learned so much about missions to the ISS, effects on the human body having been in "micro-gravity" for extended periods of time etc.

Indeed experts will gain a wealth of knowledge from Tims body itself. Poor guy will be undergoing medical tests and such likes for the next 12 months to see the effects of space travel and indeed how the human body copes and gets back to normal when returned to Earth.

 

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Alien 13

Alien 13

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2 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I agree. Not very much can go wrong when you are through the atmosphere and a HUGE parachute opens up to slow you down (to a bone shattering 30m/p/h). It was said today that the shuttle was way over-engineered and had so many systems that could fail at any moment......even when through the atmosphere (as we have sadly seen before). 

I couldnt believe when i heard that the Soyuz parachute is about 900-1000 metres sq. Thats as big, if not slightly bigger then the sq ft of my house.

I remember the Apollo missions and what a faff it was landing in the ocean and there was a lot more things to go wrong like the divers getting their in time the flotation devices the possibility of the capsule being upside down and to be honest if the shute fails hitting water at speed is the same as hitting concrete.

Alan

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Ah indeed the Apollo missions. Not too dissimilar to the Soyuz system. Its a very well tried and tested system. Today when a question was posed to someone about any replacement for the shuttle program, it was said/mentioned that there are not too many people who would be willing to be the 1st person to try out a flight on a replacement system (test pilots) for a future shuttle program. 

I dont quite think that this is true. There are plenty of people out there who would step up to the plate. There always has been (sadly not all survived). I do think its a travesty that NASA and ESA have to outsource to another country to get astronauts into orbit.....but its all they can do right now.

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Physopto

Physopto

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I just take my hat off to all those who have taken the risks over the last 50 or so years. Both the astronauts, cosmonauts and all the people who have worked in the background. Governments, I don't care much about but the people at the sharp end, are and were amazing. Many have lost their lives to prove that mankind could do it. Tim is just one of a long line of very brave people who have gone out of their way to do something exceptional.

I would love to see their passports, Russia ISS. ISS Russsia.  OK, they don't do that but maybe they should. It is a very small club to be in. America  Moon! etc.

Derek

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Out of the 2 astronauts and the 1 cosmonaut who returned to Earth today, i have to say that Tim Peake looked to be the best on form. He was smiling,talking,grinning like a Cheshire cat and really didnt look one bit phased/daunted. The other 2 guys didnt look to be too "with it". 

I know the worlds cameras were on him, but he wasnt bothered and just got on with it, being himself from what i gather about him before he went up. Just an all round genuine nice guy.

Hopefully at some stage he will get around to writing a book about his whole experience. 

 

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