DailyTech - International Space Updates, March 2007

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Science International Space Updates, March 2007
Michael Hoffman (Blog) - March 12, 2007 5:30 PM

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9 comment(s) - last by JBC.. on Mar 17 at 9:41 PM

NASA fires astronaut for the first time

Lisa Nowak, the distraught astronaut accused of attacking and trying to kidnap a fellow female astronaut, is the first astronaut to be fired by NASA. U.S. Navy Commander Lydia Robertson announced that Nowak will be assigned to a position at a naval air training station in Corpus Christi, TX. Nowak's contract with NASA officially ended last Thursday. She was released because NASA "lacks the administrative means to deal appropriately with the criminal charges," NASA said in a statement.

In future NASA flight plans, a preliminary inspection of the Atlantis' hail-damaged fuel tank reveals that it will be able to be properly repaired for launch, NASA officials said. The hailstorm that battered the shuttle left thousands of little dings in the shuttle while it was sitting on the launch pad. It was initially believed the fuel tank would have to be entirely replaced, a move that would have delayed the launch date until early June. The shuttle was originally scheduled to launch on March 15, but is in a NASA hangar waiting to be repaired.

Hewlett-Packard has joined with the University of California, Santa Cruz and NASA to help develop scientific breakthroughs in the future. The Bio-Info-Nano Research and Development Institute (BIN-RDI) combines biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology in an attempt to provide a central "commons" area for universities and companies to collaborate on research. BIN-RDI is currently doing research on thermoelectric materials and fuel cell technology -- more companies and universities are expected to join BIN-RDI in the future.

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sucks to be her

By Samus on 3/13/2007 5:59:48 AM , Rating: 2

man i donno how she sleeps at night knowing she is the first and probably only ever astronaut to be fired. these people are the cream of the crop minds in the world, it's not like anyone can be an astronaut, and she screwed it up mixing her private life with her work life.

which brings me to the fact that astronauts don't have a private life.

RE: sucks to be her

By hellokeith on 3/13/2007 11:29:40 AM , Rating: 2

The feminists must be going apes**t. Ms. Nowak had a great career, an astronaut for pete sake!, and yet she threw it all away for only the potential love of a man. And now she won't get the career or the man. Must really suck to be a feminist and try to reconcile feminist propoganda with the cold hard truth about the differences, needs, and desires of women & men.

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RE: sucks to be her

By Seemonkeyscanfly on 3/13/2007 11:50:47 AM , Rating: 2

Well the feminists can all pull off their diapers and burn them in public, should make for a good protest and raise one hell of a sink.

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RE: sucks to be her

By kaborka on 3/13/2007 3:31:10 PM , Rating: 2

I dunno. There are plenty of guys who would try to scare off a rival. As my Air Force buddy commented: "You send girls to Annapolis and teach them to fly jets, and what happens? They start acting like guys who go to Annapolis and learn to fly jets!" Every one is focusing on the diapers aspect, but she had an objective and developed a plan to accomplish it, just as she was taught. She may well have intended to kill the girl, however.

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RE: sucks to be her

By JBC on 3/17/2007 9:41:42 PM , Rating: 2

Note that Cmdr. Nowack, like all astronauts on detail from the military, was not actually employed by NASA, and so could not be "fired" by NASA. If she had left the Navy and joined NASA as a civil servant (as have many other former military officers in the astronaut corps), then should could have been fired by NASA.

Note also that there have been a fair number of astronauts who have been encouraged to leave the astronaut corps, and thus "fired", but they either returned to their parent military services or were given jobs elsewhere in NASA. Sometimes they had a convenient medical excuse, and sometimes they just disappeared from the ranks of active astronauts. But this is the first time I can recall that such a move has been done openly.

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Hail?

By Spivonious on 3/13/2007 10:04:05 AM , Rating: 2

I'm surprised that hail can cause that much damage to a shuttle. Aren't these things designed to plow through space junk? Surely that would do more damage than hail.

RE: Hail?

By rykerabel on 3/13/2007 11:26:02 AM , Rating: 2

yes, the shuttle etc can take it no problem, but its better to be safe than sorry and double check and repair dings that may lead to bigger problems.

example: the O ring seals that caused the first shuttle disaster could take all kinds of abuse... except the expansion caused by freezing (not common in Florida)

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RE: Hail?

By sdsdv10 on 3/13/2007 1:10:10 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
the O ring seals that caused the first shuttle disaster could take all kinds of abuse... except the expansion caused by freezing

I believe you meant contraction, not expansion. The O-ring shrunk in size, thus letting hot exhaust gases from the solid rocket motor escape, ultimately leading to the explosion. As a general rule, most things get smaller (contract) as they get colder. Note, I said most, not all. One good example of something that gets larger is water. When water freezes, it actually expands in size (ice is less dense than liquid water, thus why it floats). The lower density of ice is due to its volumetic expansion relative to the cold, but still liquid, water.

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