Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

FloydA: [i105.photobucket.com image 550x245]

Thanks.

And I thought those things smelled bad on the outside.

Space poots.

basemetal: Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

I'm sure there's a reason, maybe they're worried that some of the cargo may have leaked out during launch. I don't know what kind of things they're sending up, but I doubt it's just food and toiletries.

Here's a longer video, they go into it a little bit here.

Link

Dude, you can never catch the dragon

Why are those girls in mission control; sightseeing?

basemetal: Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

You ever fart in a small, enclosed place?!?

/not like they can open a window

basemetal: Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

In case dust or debris were loose in microgravity.

basemetal

Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

They have to be sure no hydrazine from the thrusters somehow leaked into the cabin.

Shouldn't be possible, but they check anyway. My guess is that's what the sniffers are looking for.

9beers: basemetal: Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

In case dust or debris were loose in microgravity.

This, most likely.
New vehicle, new company, new docking method, every reason to expect the unexpected.

Overly cautious maybe, but it's easier to laugh about it after the fact.

studebaker hoch: basemetal

Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

They have to be sure no hydrazine from the thrusters somehow leaked into the cabin.

Shouldn't be possible, but they check anyway. My guess is that's what the sniffers are looking for.

This was my first thought, but I would have thought they would want to have their body covered.

/then I was thinking....

9beers: In case dust or debris were loose in microgravity.

Those masks probably won't protect against hydrazine.
Paint chips and dust is the most I'd expect.

Now that you mention it tho, I wonder how they can be sure exhaust from those thrusters hasn't pooled between hatches.

way south

New vehicle, new company, new docking method, every reason to expect the unexpected.

Would have been funny to see the guy open the hatch and catch a pie in the face.

/SpaceSex could have at least included a couple of fully deployed inflatable sex dolls.

Oldiron_79: Dude, you can never catch the dragon

hasty ambush: Why are those girls in mission control; sightseeing?

They're on a break from dehydrating the space-sammiches.

It's sad that NASA doesn't have spacecraft any longer, but I have to admit that it's pretty damned awesome to see a private company start this.
The next step would be for private companies doing stuff like this for something other then government contracts.

Damn that's cool.

basemetal: Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

To protect against potential alien airborne parasites. Don't you watch movies?

Was it wrong that I was waiting some Chinese soldiers to bust inside the station once they opened Dragon, and claimed that the invasion of China to the US had begun?.

/All at the sound of this, of course

That's space junk that had no business being there.

Cutting corners in space is the last thing one does is space, but it is the first thing that a private entity would do.

studebaker hoch: way south

New vehicle, new company, new docking method, every reason to expect the unexpected.

Would have been funny to see the guy open the hatch and catch a pie in the face.

/SpaceSex could have at least included a couple of fully deployed inflatable sex dolls.

I was hoping to see one of those inflatable "OTTO" pilots float out through the hatch.
/don't eat the fish!

When deep space exploration ramps up, it'll be the corporations that name everything, the IBM Stellar Sphere, the Microsoft Galaxy, Planet Starbucks.

It has begun.

CygnusDarius: Was it wrong that I was waiting some Chinese soldiers to bust inside the station once they opened Dragon, and claimed that the invasion of China to the US had begun?.

/All at the sound of this, of course

I always thought that this song would make an excellent invasion theme Link

I like the stuffed dragon toy on the desk/counter at mission control.

This is bad news... for Obama.

The people that cry about needing less government and more free enterprise are also the same people that cry when actually we actually give them less government and allow something like this to actually happen.

This a private spacecraft docking on a space station for the first time in history.

That doesn't sound like much but it really is a game-changer. The future is here. Years from now people will look back on this event like the day man first set foot on the moon. Space is no longer only accessible to massive governments. A world of possibilities opens up, ushering in a new era for humanity.

Remember this day. You just witnessed history being made.

CygnusDarius: Was it wrong that I was waiting some Chinese soldiers to bust inside the station once they opened Dragon, and claimed that the invasion of China to the US had begun?.

/All at the sound of this, of course


HA! Here's the Chinese invasion theme song I thought of while reading your post. (starts at 1:20)

Zombalupagus: This is bad news... for Obama.

The people that cry about needing less government and more free enterprise are also the same people that cry when actually we actually give them less government and allow something like this to actually happen.

This a private spacecraft docking on a space station for the first time in history.

That doesn't sound like much but it really is a game-changer. The future is here. Years from now people will look back on this event like the day man first set foot on the moon. Space is no longer only accessible to massive governments. A world of possibilities opens up, ushering in a new era for humanity.

Remember this day. You just witnessed history being made.

And then this happened ...


sethstorm: That's space junk that had no business being there.

Cutting corners in space is the last thing one does is space, but it is the first thing that a private entity would do.

I hope the ISS guys have parachutes in case SpaceX goes out of business.

/only half kidding

I don't really understand all this gushing over "OMG a corporation is launching spaceships". So what? As if adding greed motive to space makes it that much cooler.

It'll be like every other privatization scheme. Lower quality, less safety, more expensive. We'll be sorry in 50 years when 2 or 3 huge companies own exclusive rights to every possible orbit, and space operations become 10X more expensive than they would be if NASA were still doing it. After all, now it has to line the pockets of company executives and investors. Trust me, this day will be seen as a huge setback for space exploration.

Pretty big door on dragon.

Transfer of bigger equipment than the russian delivery ships can handle?

ALL PRIVATE COMPANIES ARE EVIL!!!

DON'T YOU FARKERS HAVE ANY CLUE WHY THIS IS BAD FOR HUMANITY???

C-eyes

Pretty big door on dragon.

Transfer of bigger equipment than the russian delivery ships can handle?

If by "equipment" you mean "American corn-fed butts" then yes.

/that video clip needed tribbles.

So... has anyone told Daenerys that her dragon is up at the space station?

Anyone know where to find the cargo manifest for the capsule?

stiletto_the_wise: I don't really understand all this gushing over "OMG a corporation is launching spaceships". So what? As if adding greed motive to space makes it that much cooler.

It may not make space exploration cooler, but it will certainly will make it advance faster!

It'll be like every other privatization scheme. Lower quality, less safety, more expensive.

Should be higher quality and more safe then the Russian program, at least! As for NASA, should be far less expensive. Cost per shuttle launch was about $1.8 billion (cost of the shuttle program divided by number of launches). Cost per Dragon launch is $140 million... and they are making a profit on that.

Trust me, this day will be seen as a huge setback for space exploration.

I have difficulty seeing this. Commercializing space brings space exploration into our economic structure, allowing it to grow. But regardless, sounds like you are in agreement that this milestone represents a huge shift in space exploration, making it a historic event one way or the other.

MrEricSir: I hope the ISS guys have parachutes in case SpaceX goes out of business.

/only half kidding

I think this is why NASA awarded the resupply contract to two companies, Orbital Sciences and SpaceX, even though SpaceX seems to be clearly in the lead in terms of price and performance.

That way if one runs into trouble they have a backup in place, already operating and with all the necessary paperwork in place.

SomeAmerican: Should be higher quality and more safe then the Russian program, at least! As for NASA, should be far less expensive. Cost per shuttle launch was about $1.8 billion (cost of the shuttle program divided by number of launches). Cost per Dragon launch is $140 million... and they are making a profit on that.

To be fair, if you use the same math and divide the cost of the Dragon program by number of flights, it's about the same as the shuttle at this point, and that's not counting what it will cost to develop manned capability. Incremental cost for a shuttle flight (cost or savings of adding or subtracting one) are given as anywhere from $60 million to $450 million.

I'm sure the inside of the ISS smells like sweaty Cosmonaut.

Where are all the white guys with crewcuts wearing white shirts with black ties and smoking cigarettes?

also,

FuturePastNow: I'm sure the inside of the ISS smells like sweaty Cosmonaut.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

We needed a face-hugger alien to float out through the hatch.

HI GAIS WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS SPACE STATION

stiletto_the_wise

I don't really understand all this gushing over "OMG a corporation is launching spaceships". So what? As if adding greed motive to space makes it that much cooler.

It's a break from government control. You can't buy a spacecraft from NASA, but you could probably buy one from SpaceX.

It'll be like every other privatization scheme. Lower quality, less safety, more expensive. We'll be sorry in 50 years when 2 or 3 huge companies own exclusive rights to every possible orbit, and space operations become 10X more expensive than they would be if NASA were still doing it. After all, now it has to line the pockets of company executives and investors. Trust me, this day will be seen as a huge setback for space exploration.

Right now we have Boeing and Lockheed as the 2 huge companies that have the space market cornered. They charge outrageous prices because they are in collusion. SpaceX is the newcomer, with nice safe vehicles and low prices to fly. SpaceX even posts their prices on their web page. Nobody else does that. Boeing and Lockheed are dropping bricks right now because they know the party's over.

This is seen as such a huge setback for space exploration that you are the only person saying it's a setback for space exploration. Everybody else is glad that we finally have a "pickup truck" of rocket ships. Cheap, easy to use, reliable.

The next SpaceX flight to the ISS is scheduled for later this year, and it isn't a demo flight. It's a real resupply mission, as contracted. NASA can cut a check and and focus on more complex proglems.

basemetal: Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

The reason for the masks is that they have been in a restricted air flow environment for awhile now. They wear the masks until the air from Dragon has had a chance to mix with the ISS air and equalize everything.

Zombalupagus: That doesn't sound like much but it really is a game-changer. The future is here. Years from now people will look back on this event like the day man first set foot on the moon. Space is no longer only accessible to massive governments. A world of possibilities opens up, ushering in a new era for humanity.

Remember this day. You just witnessed history being made.

Nice, at least my next of kin gets the comfort of knowing I was flash-fried, flash-frozen, and/or ejected into some remote corner of space thanks to someone wanting to be cheap with space travel.

studebaker hoch: This is seen as such a huge setback for space exploration that you are the only person saying it's a setback for space exploration. Everybody else is glad that we finally have a "pickup truck" of rocket ships. Cheap, easy to use, reliable.

One lucky launch != reliable.

SomeAmerican: I have difficulty seeing this. Commercializing space brings space exploration into our economic structure, allowing it to grow. But regardless, sounds like you are in agreement that this milestone represents a huge shift in space exploration, making it a historic event one way or the other.

Apparently you forgot the 1990's when NASA tried cheap. Didn't work out so well.

Space travel is about one of the few places where cost is meant to not be at the forefront. When it is, Bad Things Happen To People and Things.

sethstorm: SomeAmerican: I have difficulty seeing this. Commercializing space brings space exploration into our economic structure, allowing it to grow. But regardless, sounds like you are in agreement that this milestone represents a huge shift in space exploration, making it a historic event one way or the other.

Apparently you forgot the 1990's when NASA tried cheap. Didn't work out so well.

Space travel is about one of the few places where cost is meant to not be at the forefront. When it is, Bad Things Happen To People and Things.

To be fair, what they tried were budget cuts. The process never changed.

The problem with space travel is that people think the money is spent on solid gold astronaut tools when it's really the manpower that costs the most. Every piece of equipment has to be engineered, tooled, and tested by very expensive labor. Usualy only purchased at a hand full of companies that are very cozy with congress critters.
Approached more as a commercial system, with lots of competition, businesses will find ways to get more done for the money.

I would have preferred a single space plane initiative that started with per flight cost cutting as the goal. But the shuttle program proved where those good intentions end.
Now it's time to burn the system down and start over.

"Whoo Hoo! Fresh supply of porn and whiskey!"

Everybody who is against this needs to look at it this way. Letting private enterprise handle the mundane stuff like station resupply, manufacturing research, and launching and maintaining satellites frees up NASA resources for the important science stuff like Mars probes, space telescopes, and hopefully someday more manned missions.

medic2731: basemetal: Anyone want to clue me in as to why they wear the respirators or heavy duty filtration masks?

The reason for the masks is that they have been in a restricted air flow environment for awhile now. They wear the masks until the air from Dragon has had a chance to mix with the ISS air and equalize everything.


There's no point to this "little white lie" approach; it's like pulling off a band-aid, best to just grab a corner and yank- get it over with quickly.

The respirator masks are protection against the alien facehuggers that have been implanting xenomorphs in the bellies of all astronauts since Apollo 14. The whole claim that the moon landings were a hoax is actually part of the government's super-secret disinformation campaign. The landings were real alright...all TOO real. By now, nearly half of the population of the US are human/alien hybrids, and the worst part of it is that it's not the half that you suspect- it's the other half...our half. At this rate, we'll be fully assimilated by 2017, and then our overlords will finally reveal the ***[++CARRIER LOST++]***