Having spent some time with astronauts lately, this seemed appropriate:
From Pundit Kitchen via Nicole’s Noisy Astronomer.
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About Bad Astronomy
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He's written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic and fights the abuse of science, but his true love is praising the wonders of real science.
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February 24th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Nobody told me you had to be and astronaut to do that.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Kinda gives “plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is” a new meaning.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Umm, no one told me I had to be wearing a jumpsuit… Why am I the last to get the memos….
February 24th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
“Houston, request permission to relieve bladder.”
February 24th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Doesn’t ever seem to sto people from wanting to be astronauts though, does it!
February 24th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Astronauts get lots of training in proper bladder voiding. Remember the astronaut who drove from Houston to Orlando wearing a diaper so she could confront her rival?
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/orl-bk-nasaastronaut0507feb05,0,6104316.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
February 24th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
i love the whole, and i love my job, boom de yadda boom de yadda, boom de yadda boom de yadda
February 24th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
From apollo 13 “the constellation urion”
February 24th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Oh God(ess) I shudder to thing they are drinking it now.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
This is just brilliant.
I have another one.
Extravehicular Mobility Unit that protects you against the harshest of vacuums — 100 million dollars
Space Shuttle — 1.7 billion dollars
Space Shuttle launch that sends you into low earth orbit — 450 million dollars
Lost Tool kit — 100,000 dollars
Taking a picture of yourself with Earth as the backdrop while warming your $15,000 Maximum Absorbency Garment — priceless
February 24th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
“Why is there a giant word Buzz all over northern Canada.”
February 24th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
In the “Probably more info than anyone’ll want to know” category :
***** If you really don’t want to know & hate toilet humour then you may want to skip the rest of this post ******
(Note, some spacebuffs here probably already know all these but anyhow.)
… (& yeah I knew you wouldn’t skip!
) ….
Buzz Aldrin was the first man to pee on the Moon.
(In his suit, needless to say, I don’t think they have flies and I hate to think what’d happen to him if he could just unzip & go!
)
Al Shepherd the first American to fly in space wet himself while strapped in and suited up ready to go – $@@#!! launch delays!
But Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in space apparently did much worse than that in his suit when he went to jump into his first spacewalk.
Let’s just say his suit got a bit uh.. soiled.
There we go then folks – oh & memo to the humourless and overly sensitive here – DMY!
—
DMY = Don’t Mess Yourselves! (Quoted in the Simpsons.)
February 24th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
@ Romeo Vitelli : Remember the astronaut who drove from Houston to Orlando wearing a diaper so she could confront her rival?
We do but I think NASA is still trying to forget.
Ah well, it shows their only human after all, there’s crazies in every area.
To be honest I can’t help feeling a bit sorry for Lisa Novak & abitpeeved that of all the recent crop of astronauts its *her* name & sad story that most in the public recall NOT that of other more successful astronauts. We all seem to too inclined to remember failure and not success when it comes to NASA.(& a lot of other things too.)
February 24th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Make that Lisa Nowak NOT Lovak. Click my name to her Wikipedia bio.
Apparently, she now denies ever wearing the diapers … although of course she probably would.
February 24th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
are astronauts highly paid?
February 24th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
To boldly “go” where no one have gone before,,,,,
February 25th, 2009 at 12:57 am
In the space talks I used to give, one of the most common questions was “How do you go to the bathroom in space?” Astronauts have been asked that so often, a book with that title has been written.
February 25th, 2009 at 6:05 am
When ya have to go…
February 25th, 2009 at 6:15 am
[...] Bad Astronomy on job satisfaction [...]
February 25th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Some interesting survey results have been released showing strong support for NASA and the space program:
http://www.spacecoalition.com/88percent.cfm
[A]lmost 90 percent of Americans see value in the U.S. space program. A recent survey conducted by the Coalition for Space Exploration proves that space is still very important to the American people.
88% value the space exploration program. When presented with basic information about the space program, the overall statistic increases to 96%.
Value for the program is centered in three areas:
A source of technological innovation and advancement (77%)
Consumer product development based on technology used for space exploration (73%)
Inspiring students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math (69%)
Other key findings from the survey
NASA’s Budget – 56% of respondents overestimate NASA’s portion of the federal budget. Upon learning the true budget allotment (less than 1%), 63% were “surprised” to discover the funding was that low.
Economic Impact – Nearly 80% of respondents place more value on the U.S. space program once they learned the following facts:
Aerospace industry employs about 500,000 people across the nation.
2008 aerospace industry sales increased over the previous year to more than $204 billion.
Sales of U.S. aerospace products account for nearly 2% of the U.S. gross domestic product.
U.S. aerospace industry had a foreign trade surplus of $61 billion in 2007 – the largest trade surplus of any manufacturing sector.
Spin-off Technology Benefits – 88% of respondents place more value on the U.S. space program upon learning of some of the many spin-off technology products, such as GPS systems, direct-to-home TV, satellite radio, firefighter masks, weather satellites, airbags, radial tires, cordless tools, smoke detectors, healthcare products including kidney and heart pumps and LASIK surgical devices. In fact, 93% said they use such spin-off technologies, with 72% of those using them “all the time.”
Global Leadership – After learning that America’s role as the world’s space leader is being challenged by other nations, 87% of respondents think America should strive to maintain its leadership position. Of that percentage, a solid majority (58%) thinks America “definitely should” strive to remain as the world’s leader in exploring space.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:09 am
[...] Job Satisfaction [...]
February 25th, 2009 at 7:21 am
@Grinspoon:
I just looked that up. Astronomy Cafe staes that they earn between $70,000 – $120,000 per year. They are not getting rich, by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t think any amount of money can compare to the experience of wetting oneself in space!
February 25th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Grinspoon:
I think it’s one of those “you’re not highly paid, but the perks are fantastic” type things. (Well, at least for those who actually get to fly, that is.)
February 25th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Just as an item of interest for Space freaks and Shuttle enthusiasts an excellent resource is the video lectures from MITAeronautics and Astronautics on the history of the shuttle taught by former astronaut Phil Hoffman.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Let’s have a big round of applause for Nicole!
Here’s her blog:
http://gugnico.blogspot.com/
Everybody go there and spread the love around!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:09 am
You want job satisfaction? Be the guy who gets paid $1,000 per person (usually two per day) to paint nude models for Carneval in Rio de Janeiro. Now THAT is job satisfaction!
~David D.G.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Oh, and by “paint nude models,” I don’t mean that he paints pictures OF them; he paints ON them. What a way to make a living!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I thing David is referring to this.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
The statement on that picture is a bit ageist!
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Hahahah that’s so cute… Unfortunately, astronauts aren’t payed nearly enough. Roberto Luongo, goalie for the Vancouver Canucks (who can’t win a Cup to save their lives) earns the equivalent of 65 ASTRONAUTS annually. 65!!!!!!!!!!