ncjay
Dork
2/26/16 3:05 p.m.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/24/health/scott-kelly-final-space-interview-gupta/
On Tuesday Astronaut Scott Kelly will be putting his feet back on Earth after almost 1 year in space. That's pretty wild to me. One year on the Int'l Space Station. Stuck. In a big metal box. If I can bring my Playstation, I could do it. Could you go one whole year with no gravity?
ncjay wrote:
......Could you go one whole year with no gravity?
Probably, I suspect it's the "getting used to 1G" thing that is going to be hard for him. Gravity sucks all the time you know.
There is no gravity. The earth sucks.
There's plenty of gravity, it's just that he's been falling for a year. Orbit is weird.
I'd gladly sign up for a year in a box for that kind of experience. A bit old to start down that path though.
ncjay
Dork
2/26/16 3:40 p.m.
Got to thinking about the whole day/night thing most of us have going here on earth. How does that work in space? Is the sun always up? Are the hours of light/ dark different? Does 3 a.m. look exactly like 3 p.m.? Do they have the space station orbiting with the same rotation as the earth? That would make sense to me. What happens if you get stuck on the space station with someone you just can't stand?
I just thought of a new movie.
" I'm tired of the motherberkeleying snakes in this motherberkeleying international space station. The lost year"
The station is not in geosynchronous orbit, always at the same spot above the earth. It's about 250 miles up. To be geosynchronous, it would have to be over 22,000 miles up. Logistical issues ensue. The ISS orbits about 15 times a day, so a "day" is about 90 minutes long.
I suspect there are windowshades for when you want to sleep.
Would I do it? I'd leave tomorrow if I could.
mazdeuce wrote:
There's plenty of gravity, it's just that he's been falling for a year. Orbit is weird.
While it does bug me when people think gravity stops in space, I could not help but think of this:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ZOcnZqEQ40
The most interesting/clear way I've seen it described was like firing a gun. The bullet will drop to the ground in the same amount of time as if you just dropped it out of your hand. But if you could make the bullet move fast enough that the planet's curvature fell away at the same rate as gravity pulled on it... it would be in orbit.
That is why launches are so energy intensive, it's not the height, it's the speed required.
I get nutty being on a four hour airplane ride. I would probably not do well.
Brian
MegaDork
2/26/16 4:59 p.m.
Now to see how his body faired compared to his identical twin brother astronaut Mark Kelly. The year in space was to test long term effects of "zero g". Who better than a set of identical twins who are both astronauts. Mark was the "control sample" of this.
A year in zero G, sure.
A year in a metal tube, no berkeleying way.
I have the utmost respect for ladies and gents that do this kind of stuff, but it's not for me. I need open spaces and the smell of nature.
Make it a 12 X 12 cabin in the woods and you've got a deal.
I'm pretty sure that a water-poor sealed enviroment will smell pretty "natural" in short order.
NOHOME
PowerDork
2/26/16 5:58 p.m.
Knurled wrote:
I'm pretty sure that a water-poor sealed enviroment will smell pretty "natural" in short order.
Funny you should mention that. I did a tour of a cold war sub and one of the things the guide mentioned was the unique smell that permeated everything on board. "The whores on shore leave charged extra" was how they explained it.
Makes me wonder what the funk is like in the space station?
Knurled wrote:
I'm pretty sure that a water-poor sealed enviroment will smell pretty "natural" in short order.
Yeah, BO isn't what I was thinking and would be another good reason to never spend time there.
BO isn't a problem on ISS as far as I know, I don't think they even change clothes daily up there. Very good HVAC system, not much in the way of hard work.
From what I've heard, EVAs are pretty strenuous. And I've certainly read accounts of the ripe air that came out of the Apollo capsules after a week or so. But you'd get used to it if that was the case, and I certainly wouldn't use it as a reason not to go.
ncjay
Dork
2/28/16 10:56 a.m.
My local PBS affiliate is showing a program on Scott Kelly's trip in space Wednesday night at 8PM UNC EX. http://www.pbs.org/a-year-in-space/home/
mndsm
MegaDork
2/28/16 12:27 p.m.
So, afaik flatulence is caused by particulate matter becoming airborne. It drifts away as its carried by breezes and gravity and whatnot. Perpetually falling in a sealed environment would theoretically mean, no breeze, falling at the same speed as you do. Could you in theory, sbd driveby someone with a stink that literally nevet went away?
I swear I am sober.
ncjay
Dork
2/28/16 1:12 p.m.
You're not alone. I wonder about the effects of a fart in space. Even worse, when you're on a space walk.
ncjay
Dork
3/3/16 4:01 a.m.
Sometimes I am amazed as a race of people what we can accomplish when we put in the effort. There's a space station orbiting the earth at 17,000 mph and we can send stuff up and attach to it. "A Year In Space" was a great show and I learned quite a bit. What are the odds of having twin brothers as astronauts? Scott Kelly is an incredibly lucky individual.
NOHOME
PowerDork
3/3/16 5:36 a.m.
ncjay wrote:
You're not alone. I wonder about the effects of a fart in space. Even worse, when you're on a space walk.
Coveralls and a welding helmet are bad enough.![](/media/img/icons/smilies/googly-18.png)
ncjay wrote:
My local PBS affiliate is showing a program on Scott Kelly's trip in space Wednesday night at 8PM UNC EX. http://www.pbs.org/a-year-in-space/home/
I watched it last night, pretty cool show.
Keith Tanner wrote:
...And I've certainly read accounts of the ripe air that came out of the Apollo capsules after a week or so...
I think a lot of that was the fact that they had to poop in a small plastic bag. Apparently it was a wee bit harsh. If you can't imagine pooping in one of those barracks style open latrines, imagine doing it while sitting shoulder to shoulder with someone in a very small space.
stuart in mn wrote:
ncjay wrote:
My local PBS affiliate is showing a program on Scott Kelly's trip in space Wednesday night at 8PM UNC EX. http://www.pbs.org/a-year-in-space/home/
I watched it last night, pretty cool show.
I caught that too. It was a very cool show. It really gave some insight into what it's like to work and live on the station as well as his unique experience being up that long. It was also a really well produced show and had some breathtaking footage.
I was really impressed that they included footage from two days ago of the landing in Kazakhstan at the same level of production quality. Somebody was on the ball.
ultraclyde wrote:
I was really impressed that they included footage from two days ago of the landing in Kazakhstan at the same level of production quality. Somebody was on the ball.
That surprised me - their production staff had to be on the ball to get that footage into the final product so quickly.