NASA Blooper..

[PegLeg45]

[billt]

It's really sad, as well as hard to believe this is the same outfit that 40 years ago took us to the Moon a total of 9 times, successfully landing 6 times. All with slide rules, pencils, and notebook paper. Now we can't even get to the Space Station we built, or launch a balloon. Truly embarrassing.  Bill T.

[fightingquaker13]

Did these widns come out of nowhere, or were they predictable? I mean taking the wind into account seems like balloon 101. Hold my beer and watch this indeed.
FQ13

[PegLeg45]

It's really sad, as well as hard to believe this is the same outfit that 40 years ago took us to the Moon a total of 9 times, successfully landing 6 times. All with slide rules, pencils, and notebook paper. Now we can't even get to the Space Station we built, or launch a balloon. Truly embarrassing.  Bill T.

Yes......and I'm not knocking NASA as a whole (I support the need for NASA 100%).....it's just that after all the hard work and "blood, sweat, & tears" that built a legacy in pioneering new things, I can't help but think that somewhere along the way, the 'new guys' ain't holdin' up their end of the rope.

[Paraguy]

NASA launched a bunch of electronic stuff being held by a crane with a balloon and there was a problem.  A relevant comparison would be giving a sniper proficient at 1000+ yard shots a hard time for missing a target at 7 yards with a snubbie.  Just cause you are good at the real hard stuff doesn't mean you are good at the stuff that seems simpler or less technical.

[Sponsor]

[billt]

I can't help but think that somewhere along the way, the 'new guys' ain't holdin' up their end of the rope.

My thoughts exactly. I saw a show on the Apollo Moon Missions where they interviewed Gene Kranz, the legendary flight controller of Apollo 11. He said when they came up with the concept of controlling missions from the ground with specialists in navigation, propulsion, and guidance, he didn't want 4.0 graduates from MIT. He said they over analyze everything and take too long to make decisions, and need too much data. He wanted guys that could think on their feet, and make fast decisions with a minimum of data. So he basically put together a bunch of "cowboys". They were smart cowboys who could think fast.

When asked why the Apollo 13 mission was successful in the safe return of all 3 astronauts he said no one ever gave up. They truly believed failure was not an option. There were flight controllers who never left that building for 5 days. Never showered, never changed clothes, ate little to nothing, and slept for minutes at a time on the floor. They survived on cigarettes and coffee. He said at one point there were several controllers that could have left because they weren't needed until the reentry phase of the mission. None did because they thought they could help elsewhere. Today they can't get a balloon 10 feet into the air. Really sad.  Bill T.

[SwoopSJ]

That video looked more like the results of "redneck engineering", as viewed on YouTube, rather than a multi-million dollar NASA project.  I guess that's an unfair comparison, though... the "redneck" version, although less sophisticated, would have netted a loss of less than $20, a case or two of beer, and a few hours out of a Saturday evening.  The best way I know to sum up the situation is with a quote from Homer Simpson, "Doh!".  

Swoop
 

[ericire12]

Well, I guess they didnt make it to that asteroid.

[twyacht]

Whoops,........... our bad, sorry about the Range Rover,....

I guess the first pint or two, at the pub, is on NASA.....

[PegLeg45]

You know, I am really not trying to make light of the situation in an overall sense.......but, the video did conjure images in my head of a guy standing off to the side with a laptop and a cup of Starbuck's coffee scratching his head and saying, "What did we miss?"