Hum Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 A space programme is a money sink. Only a few niceties for the people come out of it... like the microwaves. If you are refering to microwave ovens, those have nothing to do with a 'Space program'. During World War II, two scientists invented the magnetron, a tube that produces microwaves. Installing magnetrons in Britain?s radar system, the microwaves were able to spot Nazi warplanes on their way to bomb the British Isles.By accident, several years later, it was discovered that microwaves also cook food. Called the Radar Range, the first microwave oven to go on the market was roughly as large and heavy as a refrigerator. The idea of using microwave energy to cook food was accidentally discovered by Percy LeBaron Spencer of the Raytheon Company when he found that radar waves had melted a candy bar in his pocket. Experiments showed that microwave heating could raise the internal temperature of many foods far more rapidly than a conventional oven. The first Raytheon commercial microwave oven was the 1161 Radarange, which was marketed in 1954. Rated at 1600 watts, it was so large and expensive that it was practical only for restaurant and institutional use. There was no space program in 1954. Appalling the things that are attributed to NASA and a space program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 NASA @ Home & City http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/nasacity/index2.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 don't get Doc started on spaceplanes, he hates them. for that i have two words: VALKYRIE SHUTTLE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I don't hate spaceplanes, Dream Chaser and Prometheus are cool, but they have limitations vs. capsules for 90% of missions. They also most certainly can't go beyond Earth orbit without far larger, heavier and $$ heat shields than a capsule would require because of their larger ventral surface area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 was half-joking, but you do have an overly practical mindset when it comes to space travel...it's all about costs and efficiencies with you. i think it's our unwillingness to commit to big dreams becoming reality that's keeping us back from achieving so many great things. if the spaceplane needs bigger heat shields, give it bigger heat shields. it needs a fusion reactor, give it that. i have somewhat of a Soviet attitude to technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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