back to article It was space vs boat at Orion launch. The boat won

Mars wannabe spacecraft Orion got stuck on the ground at Cape Canaveral after a number of delays to its scheduled launch. The first test flight of NASA’s new human-carrying space shuttle has been beset by problems, including a boat that wandered into the red zone, a “second stage propellant conditioning issue”, and finally, …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mission to Mars

    I think the best they can hope for is a Twix.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: Mission to Mars

      There are no Twixes. My colleague just phoned about a minute ago to say Boots do not sell them, so my request for lunchtime chocolate was denied.

      So I've gone to SpaceX. I'm having a Double Decker, which is how they've designed the cabin for Dragon 2. With the pilots sitting in the pointy bit above the rest of the crew.

    2. JonP
      Coat

      Re: Mission to Mars

      It'll certainly be a marathon endeavor. But mustn't snicker, this could be the first step towards leaving the milky way...

      1. ukgnome

        Re: Mission to Mars

        ah yes, the galaxy.

        When it happens i hear that nasa has employed some minstrels to play.

        What smarties, lets hope they get some sort of bounty.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. AbelSoul
          Coat

          Re: Mission to Mars

          Careful we don't stray off Topic.

          1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

            Re: Mission to Mars

            One has to walk before one can run.

            Before all this talk about Galaxy and Milky Way - let's see how they do with Aero braking first. There'll be no Bounty if that thing burns up on reentry...

            1. stucs201

              Re: burns up on reentry...

              Hopefully not. We don't want it burnt to a (Toffee) Crisp.

              You're correct it can't get to Mars though, it needs a bigger Boost for that.

              Dealing with all these complications and delays is no Picnic.

              1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

                Re: burns up on reentry...

                OK, there is no need for us to continue with these gossipy Whispas - the launch has been rescheduled to some time After Eight tomorrow, anyway.

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  Re: burns up on reentry...

                  All your replies have generated a few Snickers here, but really it's more of a Marathon trip to get to Mars.

                  If the craft ever gets into trouble it might Twirl back down to earth.

                  1. stucs201

                    Looking forward to when it actually gets to Breakaway from Earth, but first they need to get to the 54321 stage.

                    1. Martin Budden Silver badge

                      I'm looking forward to Orion joining the Club in ZERO gravity.

                  2. Larhten

                    Re: burns up on reentry...

                    Just so long as they don't Flake out and cancel it's funding...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Space is a wonderful destination and other planets are wonders.

    Until mankind gets there bringing their unique mix of arrogance, ignorance and religion in their carry-on.

    1. Martin Budden Silver badge
  3. Rabbit80

    Live feed

    Watching live at http://www.theguardian.com/science/live/2014/dec/04/orion-first-test-flight-for-nasas-mars-ship-live-updates - for some reason the official nasa site seems to spend more time buffering than it does playing video.

  4. Malc
    Trollface

    Elon Musk

    ...spotted sailing away whilst stroking White Cat.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Space 1999

    Anyone built an Eagle yet?

    Come on Boffins, its what we all want.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Re: Space 1999

      Yes and you can have a trip on it

      http://www.scifiairshow.com/ships-eagle4.html

  6. Rabbit80

    Aaand another hold...

    Technical issue this time!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Aaand another hold...

      What can be going through a man's mind at this moment?

      1. Mephistro
        Devil

        Re: Aaand another hold... (@ AC)

        "What can be going through a man's mind at this moment?"

        "What the *beep* is the *beep*ing problem now??? The*beep*er is having a *beep*ing tantrum! Again!!! And, most *beep*ing important, who the *beep* could I blame for this???"

      2. Captain DaFt

        Re: Aaand another hold...

        "What can be going through a man's mind at this moment?"

        "FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..."

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "One Way Ticket To Certain, Pointless Death!"

    NASA's PR guys are going to have to come up with a more 'upbeat' mission statement for this project!

    1. Amorous Cowherder

      Re: "One Way Ticket To Certain, Pointless Death!"

      I don't know, that statement pretty much sums up every piss-poor project I've had the misfortune to be involved with!

  8. logo

    Surely NASA can afford a motor torpedo boat, at the very least the skipper should be keel hauled

    1. petur

      If you're going to destroy that boat or kill the skipper, you might as well just go ahead with the launch....

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        > might as well just go ahead with the launch....

        Think of it as a shot across the bows...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          700 kilotons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen, airburst at 300 feet... that'll teach 'em.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    SPACECRAF

    What happened to the 'T'?........i bet its gone cold now:(

  10. Jason Hindle

    One last attempt to fix the fill and valve drain issue....

    Then it's curtains for this launch window.

  11. Ugotta B. Kiddingme

    scrubbed

    no go today. :-(

  12. defiler

    You will not go to space today

    I'm sure someone will find the XKCD - I'm trying to work here!

    1. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: You will not go to space today

      Do you mean the Up Goer Five XKCD?

      Still a great XKCD, clever and surprisingly accurate too.

      1. defiler

        Re: You will not go to space today

        Thank you, Nick. Saved me the bother :)

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "ABORTION"

    Sorry: "ABORTED"

  14. JDX Gold badge

    Surely one of the first things proper space colonisation needs...

    ...is to be able to reliably take off when planned?

    It's going to pretty crap when our first Mars colony receives an email "sorry, no food for 3 months, it's a bit windy here".

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    8 Parachutes?

    I thought I was cheating in KSP using 4 and not doing a proper powered/assisted landing. :P

    (Both tools for their uses, both this and SpaceX have me on the edge of my seat)

    1. cray74

      Re: 8 Parachutes?

      The Orion doesn't use 8 parachutes at once; no more than 3 are deployed at a time. 2 drogue chutes to stabilize the capsule, which are then cut free; 3 pilot chutes to pull out the main chutes before the pilot chutes are cut free; and then the 3 pilot chutes.

      http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Orion_Parachute_Sequence.jpg

      My over-sized Kerbal landers might use 12 parachutes at once, but not Orion. :)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 8 Parachutes?

        Ah, makes more sense when it's the setup and deployment of the chutes. Not that many at the same time. :P

  16. roger stillick
    Coat

    Stationkeeping... Now to be on Mars...

    An ancient tradition from cavemen thru roving tribes to the signalling towers along the walls of China moving on to the US Civil War Signal Corps towers spawning countless US Forest Service fire lookout sites onto LEO Russian MIR station and USA Skylab= 20 years later the LEO-ISS is a hopefully start of a permanent station orbiting Earth... a human presense to look around and sound alarms seems to built into our DNA.

    IMHO= ORION is NASA's next step to Station keeping beyond Earth... The USA is not alone...China, India, Japan, and Russia all have similar stuff on their planning boards... All are real projects towards placing lighthouse / fire lookout sized stations on Mars... Commercial interests can build the plantations and towns that may follow= the mindset of the folks there is entirely different, station keepers enjoy the isolated, solitary life, and plantation folks / boom towners tend to be agressive colonizers.

    Even if the Mars thing goes anywhere there will probably be other stations on other rocks in our Solar System within the Mars time frame...hardware is in the first step... finding huge quanities out there of easily mined fuel and raw material for expansion is going to make it actually possible for robots-anyway.

    'Bladerunner' anderoids may be our actual future in space due to Radiation problems that can't be fixed by shielding (hope they remember us)...RS.

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