Tb Hotel Suggestion

[BRTango]

This may be a bit overly ambitious but...

 

Does anyone here know an astronaut or someone else that works at NASA, ESA, etc... that might be able to assist in establishing a Travel Bug Hotel on the ISS?

 

The thought being that a TB hotel could be established somewhere near the launch site, someone can pick up a few (say 5 or so) take it the ISS, a returning ISS crewmember can bring it back (cosmonaut/astronaut doesn't really matter) and return it to it's travels.

 

I'm not quite sure how the mileage would be calculated... but...

 

Like I said maybe a little overly ambitious

[+maggieszoo]

Oh, wow....that would be pretty cool. The mileage thing, though. Hmmmm....

[+dhenninger]

would it continue to get more and more mileage as it sat in the ISS.

[BRTango]

Hmmm... hadn't thought of that either... each orbit adds 'X' miles.

 

Cacher 1: "My TB has traveled all over the world... it has 22,000 miles"

Cacher 2: "Yeah... well, mine is out of this world and has 33,000,000 miles"

 

[+Teamhawaii1981 & blueicyrose]

I wonder what Zip Code you would have to plug in to search for that TB Hotel? Would another option be added to the country drop down list? "Space"?

[+the hermit crabs]

The thought being that a TB hotel could be established somewhere near the launch site, someone can pick up a few (say 5 or so) take it the ISS, a returning ISS crewmember can bring it back (cosmonaut/astronaut doesn't really matter) and return it to it's travels.

 

As long as it doesn't have any trade restrictions

 

(I'm picturing some astronaut on the space station, about to retrieve a bug that has been there since the last astronaut dropped it off six months earlier... he signs the log and is about the take the bug, when he reads the rules shouting at him: "ONLY TAKE A BUG IF YOU LEAVE ONE! THERE MUST BE AT LEAST FIVE BUGS IN SPACE AT ALL TIMES! PLEASE MAKE THIS FUN FOR ALL ASTRONAUTS!!" He pats the pockets of his space suit and realizes he left his intended swap bug at home. "Dang!" he thinks. "And this bug in here is in a race, and really needs to get to Cape Canaveral by next week! So close... but I can't take it...")

[BRTango]

 

That's definately a must... Absoulutely no Trade Restrictions!!!

[+Yellow Wingers]

At a launch cost of about $20,000 per pound (via Shuttle), I don't see carrying TBs to space as a very cost effective proposition. The astronauts have a very strict weight limit for personal belongings.

 

But you might want to check with Virgin Galactic. They may have a lower launch cost and might even be able to take along some TBs as ballast. Right now you wouldn't get orbits, but you would get into space. Given the past history of Sir Richard Branson, he might be willing to do this just to get some publicity.

[BRTango]

Gee... thanks for bringing cost into it bursting my bubble

 

Ok... only helium filled tb's for the ISS.

 

I do like the Virgin Galactic thing... I don't know why I didn't think about that, I just heard about the space port yesterday morning... that should have been my first thought

Edited December 14, 2005 by Hounds of Meur

[BRTango]

So... does anyone know a cacher that works for Virgin Galactic?

[SAWKS]

How do you use a GPSr in space to get the cooridnates for the GC.com website?