Astronauts Lost Tools in Space, Forced to Improvise 82
Ant writes "Neatorama and Popular Science share a CNN story about Russian astronauts repairing the International Space Station (ISS) with improvised tools because they lost the real ones.
How? 'It's a lot like your house,' said Paul Boehm, lead spacewalk officer. 'You set your car keys down somewhere and hopefully you find them again later when you try to remember it.' Uh, yeah, but we're idiots -- you're astronauts. Nonetheless, nice to see the Do It Yourself (DIY) spirit at work in space."
Pffft (Score:3, Funny)
Clearly I am much more intelluhgent then those NASA dudes. And don't even get me started on that Bo Villa guy. If I had 527 different types of wood vices like him, I could HAND CARVE my own six bedroom Colonial..
Bob Villa? (Score:2)
And as for tools -- if I had an outbuilding larger than my current house, with a 1/4 mil in power tools (c'mon -- a laser guided chop saw? And he's had it for years -- they only came down to the general consumer market in the last couple
Re:Bob Villa? (Score:1, Insightful)
Over the 12 years he's lived in his house, my father has built his garage, deck, shed, and finished off his basement. He's built or repaired a good chunk of the furniture in his house. He designed and built from scratch the kitchen table and set of chairs in my apartment.
He has no formal training in woodworking (though he did work as a carpenter framing houses one summer while putting himself through college) and hi
Re:Bob Villa? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Bob Villa? (Score:2)
That is a very good quote. However, it doesn't beat the "right tool for the job" quote.
Recently, tried my hand at putting in tile. Went in rather good for my first shot at not having the right tools whatsoever. One thing I did learn is that cutting tile is a pain in the butt if you don't have a tile saw.... and using the "hacksaw blade replacement" tool doesn't work nearly as well as you might think....
So in that situation
Re:Bob Villa? (Score:1)
Re:Bob Villa? Auto Mechanics Anyone? (Score:2)
Re:Bob Villa? (Score:2, Offtopic)
I figure that when his tools are orders of magnitude more complex than anything I can buy at the time, I can't learn anything from him. Of course, the same thing goes the other way with that guy that does everything (including la
Re:Bob Villa? (Score:2)
Norm Abrams should open "wood clubs" all around, outfited with all the best
tools that members can use.
Re:Bob Villa? (Score:2)
I understand your point, but CNC machines are actually fairly cheap, considering what can be done with them. A homebrew machine can be built (provided you already have at least a drill press and a table saw - necessary for the precision cuts) for around $500-1000 (numerous details are available on the internet - many people have built them - in the past, Nuts and Volts magazine had a series of articles detailing homebrew CNC). A kit machine (all the mac
"New Yankee Workshop" Theme Song (Score:1)
In "The New Yankee Workshop" with
Norm Abram, he can show you how
To make all sorts of neat things with
Tools that cost about ten thou.
back in the DIY (Score:1)
My Favourite (Score:4, Insightful)
Was the mudguard repair (I know, no mud on the moon but I refuse to say "fender" like an American) on apollo 17. Maps and sticky tape really came in handy that time.
Re:My Favourite (Score:3, Informative)
Wikipedia - A fender is a portion of an automobile body that frames a wheel well. In British English the fender is called the wing. Usually a passenger automobile will have four fenders, with one over each wheel well.
Re:My Favourite (Score:2)
Its just not used at all here in Australia. I was just having a dig.
Re:My Favourite (Score:2)
Re:My Favourite (Score:1)
Genetic roots of terminological intransigence (Score:1)
Power tools (Score:1)
Re:Power tools (Score:1)
Re:Off topic but, (Score:3, Informative)
Here in Konqueror 3.3.0-8 it looks much the same as it does in Firefox.
Re:Off topic but, (Score:2)
Look in the upper left corner, all the text from the left sid menus jumped to the top and is all overlayed on top of each other in an unreadable jumble. Not to mention, unusable..
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/7/omfgx4818yv.
Re:Off topic but, (Score:2)
Re:Off topic but, (Score:2)
Oh well..
Re:Off topic but, (Score:1)
Re:Off topic but, (Score:2)
Re:Off topic but, (Score:1)
It's actually been in the works [slashdot.org] for some time [slashdot.org] now, you know [slashdot.org]...
Sorry you missed it !
I think it looks great ; do upgrade your browser, you're missing out :)
uh, It's nothing like your house (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:uh, It's nothing like your house (Score:5, Interesting)
They had a process on Skylab. In the storage compartment there were 2000 lockers, on the ground there was a team of six working in shifts with a pair of redundant computers keeping track of what was put in which locker.
Didn't work either. And since (almost) everything was supposed to be secured inside something, it couldn't be found just by walking around and looking for it.
Re:uh, It's nothing like your house (Score:1)
Re:uh, It's nothing like your house (Score:2)
Re:uh, It's nothing like your house (Score:1)
Re:uh, It's nothing like your house (Score:1)
Of course, the problem is that most engineers here at NASA are a bit slow on the uptake of new technology...to get something not only space qualified, but also human rated...well, it could take years and many $. The environment is much harsher up there than most p
I'm in Sync with the ISS guys (Score:3, Funny)
I think the way to go is to have different multitools for particular jobs.
I love working on my bike, but man o man what I wouldn't give for a shot to work on the ISS. Of course getting the beer and bong onto the station could be difficult.
Re:I'm in Sync with the ISS guys (Score:2)
Re:I'm in Sync with the ISS guys (Score:2)
Re:I'm in Sync with the ISS guys (Score:2)
which comes what, every two hours for them? sweet.
Re:I'm in Sync with the ISS guys (Score:2)
Re:I'm in Sync with the ISS guys (Score:2)
space psychology (Score:4, Funny)
That's the problem with earthlings going to space -- we can't deal with space-based habits that contradict our own. On Earth we can hope to find our keys where we set them down. In space they float away.
Re:space psychology (Score:4, Interesting)
Things easily get away from you in the station if they're not tethered down or put back exactly where they came from.
They use an Inventory Management System to track inventory, but when you consider that there are over 30,000 individual items and locations onboard, it gets a little hard to manage.
It works well most of the time, but any inventory system is only as good as its data. If they forget to mark down where they put something, it could take ages to find.
When you have everything you could possibly need for living in, working on, experimenting, and maintaining a space station for six months, in an enclosed space the size of a few school buses, things can get kinda cluttered.
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/statio
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/statio
Whole gallery here:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/statio
Re:space psychology (Score:2)
Sounds like one of the first reasonable applications of an RFID system. If you're looking for something, you grab a "magic wand" (RFID reader) and start waving it around. When the want gets a signal from the thing you're looking for, it beeps and lights up and you get to spend a minute or so playing "hot or cold" until you zero in on it.
What could possibly go wrong???
Re:space psychology (Score:1)
And there's the answer right there; anything left loose on the space station WILL end up on or in an air vent.
So just put a mesh cover over the vent s so nothing gets sucked in, and check them first when something goes missing.
(Something loose in the ductwork might explain that mysterious noise http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/2049 [spacetoday.net] they keep hearing. just a thought.)
Re:space psychology (Score:2)
Not always.
There's quite a few nooks and crannies that things can get bumped into on accident. Things end up getting pushed behind bags, stuck in between the removable panel covers, etc...
They find a few things in the vents occasionally, but not enough to believe a mod to the vent covers would be a panacea. (There actually are vent covers, which makes this story a bit surprising; things aren't s
Re:space psychology (Score:1)
They can blame it on no gravity, but we have toddlers.
Re:space psychology (Score:2)
Re:space psychology (Score:2)
Unfortunately, at the moment, they're still using coax cables instead of standard twisted pair cables.
Eventually, once they certify the built-in ethernet port in the laptops, they'll upgrade to that, and stop using the 3Com PCMCIA cards & 'dongles' to connect them.
They can use wireless, but they are still using Proxim cards and access points. Hopefully, the plan
Re:space psychology (Score:2)
Love to talk to those guys when one of them is excited about Ham Radio - it's so cool to show a kid or family member that with 5 watts into a modest antenna, one can be talking to an astronaut during their "free time".
Great stuff.
Re:space psychology (Score:2)
And (Score:4, Interesting)
Simple tasks aren't so simple anymore when your brain is trying to compensate for input that is no longer really there. And then they have to fight off vertigo, which is hard even for people on Earth.
All this I took for granted before a little bit of brain damage, which recoverying from is a trivial little bit of recovery over a long, long time. Sadly, I remember how easy thing were before my neurons got scrambled, everything now takes a lot of conscious effort, mostly due to the fact that I don't perceive my senses as I should, and sometimes I have to really think about things, in single file to make it through the day. Forget about making internet postings and listening to music at the same time. I cannot fathom more than one task at a time, really, when I used to be able to do many. It's constant vertigo, every second of every day, and after some months, it becomes a heavy burden.
The point being is that their brains are more than likely scrambling to make sense out of the senseless, and leaving a screwdriver out in the void is probably pretty small taters, considering everything else.
Chewing gum wrapper, Swiss Army Knife, Duck Tape (Score:4, Funny)
Article headline is ambiguous... (Score:4, Funny)
ObUCB (Score:2)
In Rod We Trust (Score:3, Funny)
Not a CNN story, an AP story (Score:1)
Uh, what? (Score:2)
You know why? I always put them in the same place or places. ie. I pick up my stuff and clean up when I'm done. It's a process. I can't believe anyone in such a danagerous place would be so careless.
I know my keys are always in the last pair of pants I wore. I never take my keys our of my pocket unless I'm using them. My tools are always in the appropriate toolbox unless I'm using them.
Re:Uh, what? (Score:2)
You know why? I always put them in the same place or places
sure, but in your house, those things don't get up and float away when you're not looking
(I think the serious answer is they have several people using these things - think of your wife tidying up, and you trying to find your stuff then)
Re:Uh, what? (Score:2)
This is Slashdot. He probably can't even comprehend having a wife.
Re:Uh, what? (Score:2)
He's not a typical Slashdotter - we aren't that organized. No wives around to bitch when we leave stuff laying around.
Re:Uh, what? (Score:2)
obviously you dont have a cat eh?
hmm, shiny object...whack whack whack gone
Stubby screwdrivers are especially mystical, hehe
Good thing she doesn't get much use of the 3rd dimension, i'd never find anything. hehe, picturing the cat batting stuff around the space station makes a nice image but will she land on her feet
Re:Uh, what? (Score:3, Interesting)
Look at what was l
Re:I guess maybe I see this in a different light. (Score:1)
Re: Space Tools (Score:2)
Actually, with some of their tools, it's pretty close to that.
I saw a program once where some NASA guy showed off some of the tools carried up on the Space Shuttle during the Hubble repair mission.
Some of them were purchased "off the shelf" and modified for use in space.
For example, their adjustable wrench (Br. spanner) was an ordinary adjustable wrench whose handle was encased with a larger handle so th
Oh, that explains it... (Score:4, Funny)
Obligatory Yakov (Score:1)
DIY is part of the space program (Score:4, Insightful)
DIY has been part of the space program since Chuck Yeager used a broom handle to close the door on the X-1 after breaking his arm in a horse riding accident. I think the best example is when the Apollo 13 astronauts rigged an air scrubber and used their lunar module as a propulsion system to get home after the service module blew up.
Nice to see the tradition being carried on.
Re:DIY is part of the space program (Score:2)
Way off on some of the facts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13 [wikipedia.org]
The air scrubber in the lunar lander unit and the air scrubber in the service module were different shapes (one round, one square). The engineers on earth figured out how to put a round peg in a squar hole.
The service module did not blow up, an oxygen tank
Re:DIY is part of the space program (Score:2, Informative)
Hmm... maybe a useful app for RFID? (Score:2)
So... maybe this would be a really good application for RFIDs? Stick a tag on all the tools and at least you'll have an easy way to find anything that get's lost.
Re:Hmm... maybe a useful app for RFID? (Score:2)
"well its here somewhere, we know it didnt float away outside"
Re:Hmm... maybe a useful app for RFID? (Score:2)
Of course, they'd probably lose the scanner too, but hey.
Re:Hmm... maybe a useful app for RFID? (Score:2)
Maybe they should have bought their tools from... (Score:1)
(but seriously, please don't buy from Wal-Mart).
- RG>