I read an article in the Air and Space Smithsonian magazine (Mar. 2007) about a 200 foot rail system that is installed on the International Space Station (ISS). Being a railfan, I naturally wondered if NASA was going with GE or EMD for motive power! [swg]
Does this mean that the astronauts will be required to hold a FRA certificate? [:)]
Ed Blysard, being our man in Houston, should immediately go down to Clear Lake and put in a bid!!
Yuk, Yuk … aren’t the forums just a laugh a minute?!
G Mack
[8]
Until our man in Houston weighs in (and he has a closer connection to the space program than some may realize!), I’d just like to point out that (A) EMD’s and GE’s offerings would each take up about a third of the length of the entire railroad, (B) They’d have a bit of difficulty working at that altitude, and (C) I suspect that in a weightless environment, the rails might be configured in a way totally unfamiliar to us–I think we’d be the ones who’d need the certification!
[censored], I do too have a sense of humor!
G Mack,
I tried, good buddy, I really tried…
But even with two sisters in law and a brother in law working at JSC and Mission Control, they still declined my bid…They said something about having to quit smoking and drinking so much coffee, had to start eating healthy food, stuff like that…[:D]
[(-D]
That is a lot to ask! I would never make an astronaut, I can’t give up bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwichs!!
By the way, can you still go into mission control now or is it off limits due to security concerns? When I was living in Pasadena, Tx. we use to go down and look at the static displays and walk around. I was always amazed at the access a person had to the buildings. At that time (early 80s) you could go just about anywhere. It was fun to go out to Ellington Field and watch the different military planes, too.
G Mack
G Mack,
You can’t get into the new mission control, it is manned 24/7 because of the on going ISS program, (International Space Station) but the rest of the place, except for admin, is open.
They now have Space Center Houston, a tourist attraction that offers tours of the place, including the old mission control you remember from the early shuttle missions.
Log on to the NASA website, lots of cool and interesting stuff.
And the Saturn 5 booster is still there, massive, and cool as all get out…something that big moving at twice the speed of sound…outstanding!
What about that female Nutcase driving from Houston to FL to kill that lady. Houston we have a problem.