[AMRadio] Lost info?

[rbethman]

Curious,

I have a couple of '80s optical discs.  They are still in excellent 
shape.  The issue is finding a machine that will play them.

NASA hasn't been able to keep track of its recordings or records for 
many decades.

Expecting NASA to be able to replicate going to the moon?  The 
methodology of using a Saturn V is ludicrous in the technology that is 
currently available.

The methods used for boosters on the Space Shuttle are far superior in 
efficiency.  They are even reusable.  The Saturn V was a complete 
throwaway.  Solid fuel does much better than the *very* toxic fuels used 
in the Apollo Program.

The Apollo Program used hypergolic fuels.  These are those that are self 
igniting.

A large part of society from that age *thought* the water sprayed on 
launches was to cool the launch pad down.  Not so!  It was primarily for 
sound reduction!

Could you imagine a "new" LEM that had a skin so thin that you could 
easily poke a hole in its skin?  It indeed was.  *IF* we ever decide to 
go back to the moon, it will be much safer than days of old.

The USAF XB-37 currently in orbit has exceeded 400 days there.  It 
returns classified data, and that is fine with me.  Some programs need 
to be kept from prying eyes.

Watching the civilian program sending up supply vehicles is great! They 
will eventually get one that will be certified for carrying humans.

Patience!  Nothing comes easy or free.

Bob - N0DGN


On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 1:08 PM, Don Merz via AMRadio < 
amradio at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>> This will get exceptionally interesting really soon. The accepted life of
>> the early optical disks is 30 years and we are already there. The amount of
>> stuff that is about to be lost is frightening. OTOH, it's no worse than the
>> knowledge we have lost by letting NASA go to pot. If we absolutely had to
>> go back to the moon for some reason, we would have to reinvent the whole
>> thing. The technology and records are all destroyed and the people are all
>> dead or about to be.
>>
>> Meanwhile, DOD sits there with about 1,000 researchers working on new
>> tanks! WTF do those people even do all day? The important stuff is
>> vanishing while we spend fortunes researching obsolete weapon systems.
>> Egads.
>> 73 de N3RHT