ISS & NASA Flashlights Maglights?

Mr. Zenon · Jun 5, 2007

RoyJ · Jun 5, 2007

The way I see it, and I'm sure I'm the minority here, we've gone so far into this hobby that we've actually forgotten the true purpose of a flashlight for the average guy out there.

Really, a Maglite, or even a $5 Eveready 2D light is all anyone ever NEEDS, 99.9% of the time, even in a space shuttle.

The chances of someone actually needing a M3/M6 while on a secret mission, parachuting into a swamp land at 0100 hours, is very slim. Even the SWAT / special military groups rarely see the kind of intense action as Hollywood portrays them.

So untill DOOM3 becomes a reality, where we need to hunt down mutated humans in a dark Mars space agency underground facility, Mags and $5 cheapies will be around for a long time to come.

Toohotruk · Jun 5, 2007

Knowing the government, those Mags probably cost $10,000 apiece. :ironic:

Nyctophiliac · Jun 5, 2007

Not too suprised to see the Mags at all, they are, for most people, the high end of torch design. I even have a sneaking admiration of the consistency of manufacture and the world wide distribution. The same thing goes for Petzl - light bright and practical.

I'm absolutely sure that with power being the difference between life and death when your orbiting our planet (What is it? 50 degrees between sunlight and shade??). The shuttle cabins are kept pretty dark - these shots must be flashed not ambient. Therefore they all need torches and there's not as much spent on the space programme as there once was in the fifties and sixties and seventies.

Neither would they have much use for very bright torches as much of what they do will be close up.

I doubt if they would even consider any lithium or lithium ion cell technology - straight Alkies all the way when you carry all your air with you! (Vent with flame in space = R.I.P.).

What really concerns me, what with health and safety at work and all, is that they appear to be eating out of tin cans - hope they carry Sticking plasters!!!

I wonder if they still have to nip outside for a smoke??

Be Lucy....

z96Cobra · Jun 5, 2007

Mr. Zenon said:
They use MagLights on the ISS? Billions of bucks spent on this thing and they use a $20 Wal-Mart flashlight? WTH?

Who is bringing all those batteries into space? It would seem that they would want something better than an Mag.

Why wouldn't they use Mag Lites? Now matter how much they get bashed around here, they are still strong, reliable, and most importantly, FUNCTIONAL under pretty much ANY environment/conditions. It doesn't get any "simpler" than a Mag. No electronics, no fancy bulbs or batteries, just proven SIMPLE technology. I'd be willing to bet that about 99.9% of all people on here started out with a Mag. No one disagrees that there are a lot better lights out there than a mag, but for most people (not CPF'ers) a Mag is all they will ever need. I EDC a SureFire U2 and an L4 (and now also my P2D!), and I'm not going to bash the Mags because they are still good lights. I do have 2 Mag Chargers, one in my car and another in my truck, plus numerous other 3D's and Mini Mag variants.

Just my $.02
Roger

DM51 · Jun 5, 2007

Very interesting. One major consideration for them is weight. It costs $$$$$$ in fuel to get every ounce of weight up into space. You would think they would go for something with the best possible power/weight ratio. And for the ISS, definitely a rechargeable (NiCad for safety?) to minimize weight in batteries.

RedLED · Jun 5, 2007

Well, you would automatically think they would have some mega dollar custom light, however, think for a minute how reliable and simple a MAG light is.

Does anyone know if they are LED, also, what do they take to do service outsied the station in space?

Anyone notice there is quite a bit of velcro up there?

Best,

Redled

Jumi · Jun 5, 2007

Those pics were taken 2001, there were not much at that time.
Those 3 led petzl were quite new.

They may use some other lights now.

Juha

RebelRAM · Jun 5, 2007

The Mini-Mags looked modified to me. Either with rubber grippy sleeves or velcro, I couldn't tell for sure. Also on one mini-mag it looked like there was some sort of gold ring between the bezel and body. Not sure what that would be for on a mini-mag though because of the way the switch works.

Also FWIW, the astronauts are issued Victorinox SAKs, the Craftsman model I think. You would think by now they would be issued a Leatherman or something. Afterall, EDC weight shouldn't be an issue in space right?

DM51 · Jun 5, 2007

LOL. I love the idea of an astronaut fixing a $50,000 piece of state-of-the-art hi-tech equipment with a Leatherman, lighting it with a Minimag held in his teeth.

Bravo25 · Jun 5, 2007

You would think in conatained oxygen rich environment like the ISS they would use something other than just a plain MAG.

SilverFox · Jun 5, 2007

Hello Dm51,

That is funny...

Tom

Flying Turtle · Jun 5, 2007

Maybe CPF and Arc could team up and make a gift of some nice Arc-P's to NASA in an effort to enlighten them.

Geoff

orionlion82 · Jun 5, 2007

i am surprised at the weight issue as well.
maglights - hey, its a dollar waiting on a dime.

no Ti?

for the love of god, a minimag dosnt weigh much, but as i recall every POUND of weight on the space shuttle costs literally a POUND of GOLD to launch...

really, i would rather have them get high-dollar Ti lights once and forever,and use old-school-lightwieght carbon batteries. "heavy duties"

no taxation without representation - you know...

man, can one of our Ti flashlight gods make nasa a light for each shuttle and save the taxpayers more than the lights are worth as a charity effort? or maybe as a group effort?

im pretty sure i would rather pay for carbon batteries and a TI light than a mag with alkalines to get shot in space over and over... but as an initial proposition, it dosnt sound too-entirely daft...

elgarak · Jun 5, 2007

Bravo25 said:
You would think in conatained oxygen rich environment like the ISS they would use something other than just a plain MAG.

Can't find a link on the fly, but both the shuttle and the ISS use a nitrogen/oxygen mix of fairly normal pressure. They're not oxygen-rich.

For Apollo, they used a pure oxygen atmosphere, since it is much easier to control and maintain a one-gas atmosphere than a two-gas one. For long-term stay, however, the pure oxygen has health and technical problems, which is why they switched.

Mr. Zenon · Jun 5, 2007

Get me one of these NASA Spacelights..

"A second example of portable lighting is the EVA flashlight, shown in Figure 14.4.4.1-2. The light is mounted on a flexible neck and a mirror is provided to further aid visibility into inaccessible areas."

http://msis.jsc.nasa.gov/images/Section14/Image372.gif

Source http://msis.jsc.nasa.gov/sections/section14.htm#_14.6_EVA_TOOLS,

Technical Information
Part number 10172-20561-02
Weight 0.13 kg (0.26 lb)
Battery Two AA alkaline wrapped with Teflon and Kapton, 1.5 V each
Battery life 2 yr
Lamp Standard flashlight bulb
Operation Rotate bulb housing
Stowage Middeck locker
Dimensional data
A 30 cm
(12 in) true length
B 3.56 cm
(1.40 in)

batman · Jun 5, 2007

NASA did away with pure oxygen environments after the Apollo 1 disaster.

elgarak said:
Can't find a link on the fly, but both the shuttle and the ISS use a nitrogen/oxygen mix of fairly normal pressure. They're not oxygen-rich.

For Apollo, they used a pure oxygen atmosphere, since it is much easier to control and maintain a one-gas atmosphere than a two-gas one. For long-term stay, however, the pure oxygen has health and technical problems, which is why they switched.

elgarak · Jun 5, 2007

batman said:
NASA did away with pure oxygen environments after the Apollo 1 disaster.

Only on the ground and during launch. Even then, it was still 60% oxygen (compared to the normal 21% in air). They would slowly change to 100% oxygen in the first part of the flight. During most of the flight and on the Moon it was still pure O2.

By comparison, ISS and shuttle use normal sea-level atmospheric pressure and oxygen content.

chevrofreak · Jun 5, 2007

orionlion82 said:
i am surprised at the weight issue as well.
maglights - hey, its a dollar waiting on a dime.

no Ti?

for the love of god, a minimag dosnt weigh much, but as i recall every POUND of weight on the space shuttle costs literally a POUND of GOLD to launch...

really, i would rather have them get high-dollar Ti lights once and forever,and use old-school-lightwieght carbon batteries. "heavy duties"

no taxation without representation - you know...

man, can one of our Ti flashlight gods make nasa a light for each shuttle and save the taxpayers more than the lights are worth as a charity effort? or maybe as a group effort?

im pretty sure i would rather pay for carbon batteries and a TI light than a mag with alkalines to get shot in space over and over... but as an initial proposition, it dosnt sound too-entirely daft...

Complete waste of titanium. Aluminum is lighter anyway. Save the titanium for high stress parts that need the strength.

tebore · Jun 5, 2007

DM51 said:
LOL. I love the idea of an astronaut fixing a $50,000 piece of state-of-the-art hi-tech equipment with a Leatherman, lighting it with a Minimag held in his teeth.

Imagine him doing that outside. It'd suck if he dropped his light, how is he gonna pick it up from inside the suit. I can just imagine an Astronaut have a "Doh" moment.

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