New answers tagged crewed-spaceflight
16
votes
Have there been any Spacewalks to free-flying satellites?
On shuttle mission STS-41C a free-flying crewmember using the Manned Maneuvering Unit flew out to the Solar Max satellite and attempted to dock with it.
(astronaut at lower right)
The docking failed ...
- 178k
15
votes
Accepted
What are the "insect antennae" on the MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit)?
Found a 2nd source so removed "partial answer notation" (still looking for details on what the lights actually indicated).
The "antennae" are cue light extenders.
(From Aviation ...
- 178k
3
votes
What are the "insect antennae" on the MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit)?
AFAIK, and it is hard to find a lot of info atm, they are for the propellant gauges.
They supply information.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19910009290/downloads/19910009290.pdf
Thruster Lights
...
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22
votes
Have there been any Spacewalks to free-flying satellites?
with the robotic arm (RMS) first capturing the satellite target
Whilst the CanadArm was involved in capturing the satellites, sometimes the capture was done by people attached to the arm, not by the ...
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12
votes
Have there been any Spacewalks to free-flying satellites?
STS 49 baby! May 1992.
They launched, tried to capture the Intelsat 603 satellite that failed into orbit.
First two tries using the CanadArm to grapple failed, finally they did it by hand, and then ...
- 79.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Shuttle-era mission profile for a desperation moon mission
Warning: this answer is a bit more worldbuildy than rigorous.
I can see two immediately plausible routes to a lunar return mission.
Option A: This is the lower risk option (both in development ...
- 167k
5
votes
Why did the Space Race end on the Moon?
For the space race to have continued as a high-stakes propaganda race, there would need to have been a new target that met two criteria:
It would have to be clearly more impressive than going to the ...
- 10.3k
4
votes
Has intra-cranial pressure been measured on ISS astronauts for SANS research?
During a recent visit to the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, TX, I learned that, as of November of 2023, there was no way to measure intracranial pressure (ICP) on the ISS. Ophthalmodynamometry ...
- 4,175
5
votes
Are rockets deliberately throttled back towards the end of the burn to spare crew and airframe g-forces?
Partial answer submitted as a counterexample for "throttling down is done for humans onboard"
The uncrewed final flight of the Saturn V, the launch of the Skylab, also "throttled down&...
- 178k
3
votes
Are rockets deliberately throttled back towards the end of the burn to spare crew and airframe g-forces?
I expect the throttle-back was to limit the G-forces on the crew more than anything else. 3g is already pretty uncomfortable for a human, and anything higher could make the crew unable to respond in ...
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