# Explosions in space **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2001, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489 "2001-05-06T00:37:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2001, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489/21 "2001-05-08T13:56:08Z")
And federal agencies sell stuff all the time for money, as, for example, the USGS topographical maps I used to pay a paltry sum for in the 1970’s. As for realism in science fiction television/theater, it hasn’t ever existed. Ships make noise, explosions show all sorts of interesting effects impossible in space, and inertia is always ignored (well, hell, E. E. ‘Doc’ Smith ignored it in his Lensman books from long ago, so I guess I can’t be too harsh on Hollywood for that, they just have inertial compensators or some such thing they don’t mention). ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2001, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489/22 "2001-05-08T14:07:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phobos \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > > \*\*I guaran-damn-tee you that NASA could make bank by selling the stock footage to Hollywood’s sci-fi space movies for years to come. \*\* > > AFAIK, NASA is not allowed to make money. \*\* Okay, I say, jumping on SPOOFE’s bandwagon. Let the Russians do it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489/23 "2001-05-08T14:13:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phobos \* > \*\*AFAIK, NASA is not allowed to make money. \*\* More accurately, any revenue NASA collects is remitted to the Treasury general fund, rather than being retained in NASA’s operating budget. But see below… > [@](#): > > On October 20, 1999, the President signed into law the FY 2000 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations Act (P.L. 106-74), which established, in Section 434, a “Space Station Commercial Development Demonstration Program.” The stated purpose of this program is to establish a demonstration regarding the commercial feasibility and economic viability of private sector business operations involving the International Space Station and its related infrastructure. Section 434 directs that NASA “shall establish and publish a price policy designed to eliminate price uncertainty for those planning to utilize the International Space Station and its related facilities for United States commercial use.” It also stipulates that any receipts collected by NASA from the commercial use of the ISS “shall first be used to offset any costs incurred by NASA in support of the United States commercial use of the International Space Station. Any receipts collected in excess of the costs identified pursuant to the previous sentence may be retained by NASA for use without fiscal year limitation in promoting the commercial use of the International Space Station.” See also the NASA [Price Structure and Schedule for U.S. Resources and Accomodations on the ISS](http://commercial.hq.nasa.gov/price/structure.html). ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489/24 "2001-05-08T15:29:11Z")
IMHO: I don’t know what NASA’s all up in arms about re: space tourists. Let 'em go! Make that money! Unfortunately, they let the Russians bid too low. I say, $100 million per trip. That’ll cover most of one of our new cheap space probes. NASA’s worried about wasting time/effort in nonscientific activities…but wasn’t one of the last shuttle flight’s main jobs to circle around the ISS shooting film for a freakin’ IMAX movie? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489/25 "2001-05-08T15:33:25Z")
Oh. And to bring my rant back to “explosions in space”–since their already making commercial movies, why NOT shoot some big, fat space explosions with IMAX cameras? You can’t tell me you wouldn’t get data out of that. They already have set controlled fires in spacecraft to study how they do/don’t propagate in zero-G…why not also study how explosions might affect a nearby spacecraft? Yeah. That’s the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2001, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489/26 "2001-05-09T01:04:27Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* \*\* > [@](#): > > The explosions you see in Star Trek are so bogus it’s laughable. \*\* Yeah but only over analytical science geeks really care about such things 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explosions-in-space/64489.md?page=1)