Re: The Warm Equations

On 6/28/2024 9:35 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

On 6/28/2024 8:46 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

On Thu, 27 Jun 2024 19:22:49 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>

On 6/27/2024 7:08 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:

On 6/23/2024 11:37 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Interesting to note the way margins of a real-life space venture are run:
>
Two astronauts have been stuck at the ISS for an extra two weeks,
so far, because their ride has flat tires, and it's not a crisis,
and nobody has had to volunteer to step out the airlock.

>
The real question is, there are 7 or 8 people in those tin cans.  Is
there enough food, water, air, and diapers for all of them for another
month ?  Or is SpaceX going to have to send an emergency supply ship ?
>
Can the Boeing Starliner drop without a crew ?  I suspect so.
>

That's kind of a dumb question.  OF COURSE the Starliner can be dropped.
  Undock it, do an EVA to push it a bit and it will eventually "land"
somewhere on the planet.
>
Now, a controlled drop to a specific area.....

>
Perhaps a small explosive charge with a timer would be advisable, to
keep it from coming down in one piece. Ideally, it would come down in
zero pieces, providing a nice show as each teeny-tiny splinter burns
up on re-entry.
>

It would take more than a small explosive charge to do that.

Starliner has already made one (sort of) successful unmanned trip
to the ISS, and returned safely. It is completely capable of returning
unmanned, no explosives needed.
But yes, on that trip they also had thruster problems.
pt