Stephen Hawking

bdewoody · Apr 26, 2007

Stephen is in Central Florida today to get a ride in a civilian version of NASA's vomit comet. He will get to experience 25 seconds of "weightlessness" which he says will be great. I have long believed that I would be willing to give up living on earth if I could hae a job on the space station or the moon. My condition is nowhere near as severe as Stephen's but I'm sure a low "G" environment would be a welcome relief to this gravity challenged person. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Bob DeWoody </div>

docm · Apr 26, 2007

The greatest danger to him isn't microgravity or even crashing, it's high G's pulled in the transitions and later in SS2's re-entry. IIRC SS2's profile is 5-7 G's on re-entry and that's a big load on demineralized bone like he probably has. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

docm · Apr 26, 2007

This vomit comet flight is a prerequisite before Hawking can take the SS2 flight he was offered by Branson last year. Made most of the papers <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> 2006 Cosmic Log article.... <blockquote>In reply to:<hr />Stephen Hawking in space Posted: Thursday, November 30, 2006 7:20 PM by Alan Boyle British billionaire Richard Branson says he's sending over a medical officer to talk with physicist Stephen Hawking about getting him into space. That's how the founder of Virgin Galactic responded to Hawking's comment that "maybe Richard Branson will help" him achieve his long-held goal of reaching the final frontier, even though he's a quadriplegic who needs a blink-controlled computer to communicate. Branson and other Virgin executives indicated today that if there's any way on earth to accommodate the good doctor-with-a-disability, they'll do it. And for practice, Hawking could conceivably experience weightlessness aboard a Zero Gravity Corp. plane as early as next year.<hr /></blockquote> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

Swampcat · Apr 26, 2007

<center>Hawking goes zero-G: ‘Space, here I come’ <blockquote>World-famous physicist Stephen Hawking experienced eight rounds of weightlessness during a better-than-expected airplane flight that he saw as the first step toward a trip in space. "It was amazing," Hawking told reporters afterward, using his well-known computerized voice. "The zero-G part was wonderful, and the high-G part was no problem. I could have gone on and on.</blockquote></center> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ------------------------------------------------------------------- "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."Thomas Jefferson </div>

docm · Apr 26, 2007

IMO this is just terrific. Hope he gets that ride on SS2 <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

spacester · Apr 26, 2007

YES! I am so happy for him! Not just brilliant, but brave as well. From the Cosmic Log After: "It was amazing," Hawking told reporters afterward, using his well-known computerized voice. "The zero-G part was wonderful, and the high-G part was no problem. I could have gone on and on. Before: "Many people have asked me why I am taking this flight. I am doing it for many reasons. First of all, I believe that life on earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other danger. I think the human race has no future if it doesn’t go into space. I therefore want to encourage public interest in space. "I have long wanted to go into space, and the zero-gravity flight is the first step toward space travel. I also want to demonstrate to the public that everyone can participate in this type of weightless experience. "Finally, I am doing this flight to raise money for a number of charities, including ALS, Easter Seals, Starlight Starbright and the X Prize Foundation."/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

brellis · Apr 26, 2007

*sniff* - I'm totally misty-eyed about this. What a cool thing. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better. </div>

erioladastra · Apr 26, 2007

"he says will be great" Recently (he was at NASA) and I was telling him about my experience on NASA vomit comet. He didn't bother to "type" a reply but his eyes lit up like you can't imagine. I think he will really enjoy his flight!

CalliArcale · Apr 26, 2007

Wow, you actually met him? And you made *his* eyes light up with stories of your experiences? You now have infinite geek cred, methinks. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> And see above: he did enjoy his flight! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

docm · Apr 27, 2007

This is what made me misty-eyed.... Note the apple (Newtons?) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

brellis · Apr 27, 2007

hi Calli Wow, you actually met him? And you made *his* eyes light up with stories of your experiences? You now have infinite geek cred, methinks. I met SH in 1982 when I was a student at UCLA. He could still speak a little then, and he spoke to me. {Waiting for geek cred acknowledgement <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />} <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better. </div>

mooware · Apr 27, 2007

Very Cool!!!

askold · May 6, 2007

Great - another NASA zero-G stunt. At least this wasn't as bad as the "toss the cat around in zero-G" lark.

PistolPete · May 6, 2007

NASA had nothing to do with it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai </div>

askold · May 6, 2007

I stand corrected - this was zero G's doing. But, I'm pretty sure it was astronauts tossing that cat around.

erioladastra · May 7, 2007

Absolutely wrong again.

lampblack · May 7, 2007

I just found the "cat in zero-g" video. Those folks oughtta be reported to the local Humane Society. According to BoingBoing, it first showed up as part of an Air Force explainer on cockpit physics. Go figure. In any case, there was no mention of NASA. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Just tell the truth and let the chips fall... </div>

brellis · May 7, 2007

I am a veteran of many household cats over the years. It is in their nature to carry themselves with a confident awareness of their environment. zero-g is a bit of a challenge for a cat, but i doubt it did any real psychological damage. i think it would have been sweet torture to lay a toy out in front of the cat, floating them both in the zero-g, hehe. Cats have what a very smart friend of mine referred to as a mercurial nature. By the time they landed, I'm sure that cat had moved on to other entertainments. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better. </div>

askold · May 8, 2007

The boingBoing video is dated October 24, 2004. According to the Zero G Corp (their web site): "The ZERO-G Experienceâ„¢ launched in October 2004. ZERO-G has since successfully flown more than 2,500 passengers aboard 100 flights. " So, either the flight of the cat was one of zero G's first, or it was done with the NASA plane. Since the cat video was originaly posted at an Air Force web site (!!!), I suspect this was a NASA flight.

no_way · May 8, 2007

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />civilian version of NASA's vomit comet<hr /></blockquote> Anyone see something strange in this characterization of Zero-G's offered service ?

CalliArcale · May 8, 2007

Not really. It's how the media usually mangles the details. (Eh, 727, KC-135 -- what's the diff? <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> ) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

no_way · May 8, 2007

how can there be a civilian version of NASAs something, while NASA is supposed to be a civilian agency ?

bdewoody · May 8, 2007

Civilian may be a misnomer. NASA is non military but definitely a government agency as that is where the funding comes from. The company that provided Stephen Hawking's ride is a private for profit corporation. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Bob DeWoody </div>

no_way · May 8, 2007

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />civilian noun [C] a person who is not a member of the police or the armed forces<hr /></blockquote> I know what Zero-G is. Its an issue of private sector vs public sector version. But NASA is definitely supposed to be a civilian agency. So a "civilian version of NASAs something" should be an oxymoron. the fact that bunch of educated people read that and dont notice anything strange, points to something strange <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

bdewoody · May 8, 2007

OK I acknowledge that my original post should have been worded private and not civilian. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Bob DeWoody </div>

Stephen Hawking

bdewoody

Guest

docm

Guest

docm

Guest

Swampcat

Guest

docm

Guest

spacester

Guest

brellis

Guest

erioladastra

Guest

CalliArcale

Guest

docm

Guest

brellis

Guest

mooware

Guest

askold

Guest

PistolPete

Guest

askold

Guest

erioladastra

Guest

lampblack

Guest

brellis

Guest

askold

Guest

no_way

Guest

CalliArcale

Guest

no_way

Guest

bdewoody

Guest

no_way

Guest

bdewoody

Guest

Similar threads

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Share this page