Boaters gatecrash SpaceX's 1st splashdown with astronauts. 'We need to do better,' NASA chief says

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The Apollo capsules generally splashed down in the Pacific Ocean a long way from land. I guess one drawback of having the SpaceX Dragon capsule splash down in the Gulf of Mexico not far from Pensacola meant that quite a few sightseers in boats wanted to get a close up look. Rather stupid behaviour by the boaters, not only were they impeding the recovery effort but some were getting so close to the capsule that they both risked an inadvertent collision and ran the risk of being exposed to toxic fumes from the Draco thrusters that had not yet been purged (the Draco thrusters use monomethyl hydrazine fuel which is toxic and carcinogenic in small amounts, and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer which is also highly toxic) . “With limited assets available and with no formal authority to establish zones that would stop boaters from entering the area, numerous boaters ignored the Coast Guard crews’ requests and decided to encroach the area, putting themselves and those involved in the operation in potential danger,” the Coast Guard said in a statement, adding that it would launch a “comprehensive review” of the operation with NASA and SpaceX . They'll need to have better control of intruding boats for future missions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/08/02/spacex-return-updates/
 
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Calling the behavior of boaters "stupid" is not how I see it. For one thing you classify them as "boaters". If they were standing on the land would you call them "standers"? They are people and people are curious or perhaps even interested! I do not see how they impeded the recovery effort. The Coast Guard appeared to keep them out of danger to themselves and the recovery crew. They did their job! They just didn't like it.

Regardless of where the splashdowns occur, said splashdowns are made public. Finding out where the splashdown will take place is easy enough to do even if it were not made public information. I suppose if NASA/Space X wanted it to be unattended by onlookers or secret, they might try not even suggesting when/where a splashdown might occur. Huh, imagine that, not having instant media coverage to protect these programs, whoda thunk it? Rocket science?

As far as a risk of being exposed to carcinogenic toxins, perhaps these rocket scientists need to either NOT USE these carcinogens or find a way to eliminate the possibility of them being released (highly unlikely). But I guess if we leave it to rocket scientists to fix these issues we shouldn't hold our breath or perhaps we should! The final frontier is the next phase in places we are going to ruin with our garbage, just like they have within our own solar system. Either way it is a lose/lose endeavor. But name calling is always a solution isn't it?

Some things to think about, science for example. We are curious creatures. We begin by wonder and by examination. We innovate and invent and eventually we explore, we do so at great risk and human sacrifice. Science seems to have disproved the theory of creationism and the theory of evolution has determined that the earth was here long before "human" life.

In the few thousand years we have existed, even with all of our great discoveries, still we have thick and empty heads. We are going to colonize other orbs? Or at least we think we are going to. Some think that human life is going to exist forever so we are going to explore the universe. This is laughable at best.

What we are doing is interrupting, if ever so minutely the natural evolution of the universe with our toxins and poisons and space junk. What we are doing is getting in our own way. We are literally standing on our own neckties and trying to stand up at the same time. In this position, bent over, we are eventually going to "get it" in the end!

But no really, name-calling is always the right thing to do!
 
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Calling the behavior of boaters "stupid" is not how I see it. For one thing you classify them as "boaters". If they were standing on the land would you call them "standers"? They are people and people are curious or perhaps even interested! I do not see how they impeded the recovery effort. The Coast Guard appeared to keep them out of danger to themselves and the recovery crew. They did their job! They just didn't like it.

Regardless of where the splashdowns occur, said splashdowns are made public. Finding out where the splashdown will take place is easy enough to do even if it were not made public information. I suppose if NASA/Space X wanted it to be unattended by onlookers or secret, they might try not even suggesting when/where a splashdown might occur. Huh, imagine that, not having instant media coverage to protect these programs, whoda thunk it? Rocket science?

As far as a risk of being exposed to carcinogenic toxins, perhaps these rocket scientists need to either NOT USE these carcinogens or find a way to eliminate the possibility of them being released (highly unlikely). But I guess if we leave it to rocket scientists to fix these issues we shouldn't hold our breath or perhaps we should! The final frontier is the next phase in places we are going to ruin with our garbage, just like they have within our own solar system. Either way it is a lose/lose endeavor. But name calling is always a solution isn't it?

Some things to think about, science for example. We are curious creatures. We begin by wonder and by examination. We innovate and invent and eventually we explore, we do so at great risk and human sacrifice. Science seems to have disproved the theory of creationism and the theory of evolution has determined that the earth was here long before "human" life.

In the few thousand years we have existed, even with all of our great discoveries, still we have thick and empty heads. We are going to colonize other orbs? Or at least we think we are going to. Some think that human life is going to exist forever so we are going to explore the universe. This is laughable at best.

What we are doing is interrupting, if ever so minutely the natural evolution of the universe with our toxins and poisons and space junk. What we are doing is getting in our own way. We are literally standing on our own neckties and trying to stand up at the same time. In this position, bent over, we are eventually going to "get it" in the end!

But no really, name-calling is always the right thing to do!
Jenny, just two points. 1) You said I "classified them as boaters". I was merely using the term from the original Space.com article which called them "boaters". It seems a pretty reasonable accurate description of people who are in boats and as far as I'm concerned is in no way a derogatory term, just as people on (bi)cycles are cyclists. :) 2) Perhaps "stupid" was too strong a term, but getting so close was not a sensible thing to do for the reasons stated, if somebody does something which isn't sensible how best to describe them, perhaps "thoughtless" or "ignorant"?
 
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Newtons_laws - They certainly weren't acting like smart people, they were warned to stay away, and ignored the warning. I think you got it right, although thoughtless or ignorant also describe their actions well. Glad they didn't cause any harm to Bob and Doug. If they hurt themselves after being warned to stay away, oh well. Darwinism maybe?
 
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Jenny, just two points. 1) You said I "classified them as boaters". I was merely using the term from the original Space.com article which called them "boaters". It seems a pretty reasonable accurate description of people who are in boats and as far as I'm concerned is in no way a derogatory term, just as people on (bi)cycles are cyclists. :) 2) Perhaps "stupid" was too strong a term, but getting so close was not a sensible thing to do for the reasons stated, if somebody does something which isn't sensible how best to describe them, perhaps "thoughtless" or "ignorant"?

That's a little better... LOL! Nicer name-calling! Perhaps they are doo-doo heads, LOL?
 
When the Space Shuttles were flying to the ISS they just needed a runway to land on and go about their merry way. With the "new" and improved Apollo style capsule, they have to return to dunking in the ocean. That means there will be more sightseers who want to see first hand these marvels of technologies first hand. If Space X can land their rockets back on Earth, why can't they land the space ships back the same way? We just needed a better version of the Space Shuttle, why reinvent the wheel? Unless we need to give the Navy something to do, since it has so much free time on its hands.
 
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Yes , I wondered about that one too when I saw the capsule bobbing in the ocean --- a pretty ancient and awkward way to recover Astronauts! When compared to the modern landing boosters at least.

I appreciate though that it requires significant extra fuel to steer the capsule back to land as that hardware has to go up and all the way back down, carrying that weight I mean.
 
When the Space Shuttles were flying to the ISS they just needed a runway to land on and go about their merry way. With the "new" and improved Apollo style capsule, they have to return to dunking in the ocean. That means there will be more sightseers who want to see first hand these marvels of technologies first hand. If Space X can land their rockets back on Earth, why can't they land the space ships back the same way? We just needed a better version of the Space Shuttle, why reinvent the wheel? Unless we need to give the Navy something to do, since it has so much free time on its hands.

SpaceX originally designed the Dragon capsule to land back on ground using the in-built Super Draco thrusters as retro rockets to fire just before landing to cushion the impact (similar to how the Russian Soyuz capsule lands). However in 2017 the decision was made to abandon this option, primarily due to certification issues with NASA. The rival (and delayed) Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule is designed to land on the ground using a system of airbags to cushion the impact. https://spacenews.com/spacex-drops-plans-for-powered-dragon-landings/
 
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Calling the behavior of boaters "stupid" is not how I see it. For one thing you classify them as "boaters". If they were standing on the land would you call them "standers"? They are people and people are curious or perhaps even interested! I do not see how they impeded the recovery effort. The Coast Guard appeared to keep them out of danger to themselves and the recovery crew. They did their job! They just didn't like it.

Regardless of where the splashdowns occur, said splashdowns are made public. Finding out where the splashdown will take place is easy enough to do even if it were not made public information. I suppose if NASA/Space X wanted it to be unattended by onlookers or secret, they might try not even suggesting when/where a splashdown might occur. Huh, imagine that, not having instant media coverage to protect these programs, whoda thunk it? Rocket science?

As far as a risk of being exposed to carcinogenic toxins, perhaps these rocket scientists need to either NOT USE these carcinogens or find a way to eliminate the possibility of them being released (highly unlikely). But I guess if we leave it to rocket scientists to fix these issues we shouldn't hold our breath or perhaps we should! The final frontier is the next phase in places we are going to ruin with our garbage, just like they have within our own solar system. Either way it is a lose/lose endeavor. But name calling is always a solution isn't it?

Some things to think about, science for example. We are curious creatures. We begin by wonder and by examination. We innovate and invent and eventually we explore, we do so at great risk and human sacrifice. Science seems to have disproved the theory of creationism and the theory of evolution has determined that the earth was here long before "human" life.

In the few thousand years we have existed, even with all of our great discoveries, still we have thick and empty heads. We are going to colonize other orbs? Or at least we think we are going to. Some think that human life is going to exist forever so we are going to explore the universe. This is laughable at best.

What we are doing is interrupting, if ever so minutely the natural evolution of the universe with our toxins and poisons and space junk. What we are doing is getting in our own way. We are literally standing on our own neckties and trying to stand up at the same time. In this position, bent over, we are eventually going to "get it" in the end!

But no really, name-calling is always the right thing to do!


Name calling?


Well, I expect that they weren't calling them hats.

boater

boat·er | \ ˈbō-tər \
Definition of boater

1: one who travels in a boat
2: a stiff hat usually made of braided straw with a brim, hatband, and flat crown
 
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What is wrong with Boing, Boing, Boing, stagger, stagger?

Regain consciousness much later.
 
The capsule in a bag has been a staple for the Russians for many decades. Why reinvent the wheel? Well. the wheel is in constant change. Look no further than the Martian Rovers and you can see how the wheel has changed from its former self. Someone just invented a wheel that uses tracks and morphs into a triangle for added grip in snow, but they don't want to go beyond just a demo model. Probably the industry not wanting to retool for this type of new fangled wheel. What was wrong with the Space Shuttle, the military still believes in the shuttle's design, and has several that are flying secret millions in space at several months at a mission. If the military believes in the shuttle; why doesn't NASA believe in the shuttle?
 
The capsule in a bag has been a staple for the Russians for many decades. Why reinvent the wheel? Well. the wheel is in constant change. Look no further than the Martian Rovers and you can see how the wheel has changed from its former self. Someone just invented a wheel that uses tracks and morphs into a triangle for added grip in snow, but they don't want to go beyond just a demo model. Probably the industry not wanting to retool for this type of new fangled wheel. What was wrong with the Space Shuttle, the military still believes in the shuttle's design, and has several that are flying secret millions in space at several months at a mission. If the military believes in the shuttle; why doesn't NASA believe in the shuttle?
FYI, the Space Shuttle program was canceled in 2011.
 
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The current military shuttle program is officially listed as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). The military are running experiments where the actual physical configuration would draw too much attention. The shuttle is a shell/disguise for something else. The shuttle can return to a specific place on Earth without any chance of it’s secrets falling into non Imperial hands. (The Bothans have placed the entire secret technical readout of the X37-B experiment on youtube).

Shuttles are quite inefficient that is why nobody copies them.
 
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