ThinkPads in the movie Gravity

[rkawakami]

But what I hadn't seen before were those small devices mounted on the Ultraport. Interesting!

That's an UltraPort camera. There's one on the system in the upper right of the first photo. The last photo shows the adapter plate (aka, an "interposer") the camera attaches to. Here's some pictures:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ultraport_ca ... _2949m.jpg
http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ultraport_ca ... oser_3.jpg

[jdk]

Watching NASA TV and Nat Geo, there are a few iPads on the ISS. There is at least one laptop that is brushed metal with a shiny brushed metal lid. It may be a MacBook Pro.

The overwhelming majority of laptops are Thinkpads. One close-up revealed a T61p. The other laptops seem to be from the same generation as they do not have red on the trackpoint buttons. There is at least one Thinkpad without the UltraNav, with a 4:3 ratio.

[Adda]

As far as I have seen, the ThinkPads on the ISS are A31p's and T61p's, there are pics showing older machines then those, but nothing newer.

[Medessec]

Just had the chance to see the movie "Gravity". Absolutely loved it, although it's littered with inaccuracies... I've always been fascinated with space and space travel, and yes... I have seen my share of fiction, such as Star Trek and the Star Wars franchise(which, btw, I strongly prefer Star Trek, the new movies are pretty awesome too.) The hazardous and delicate nature of current space travel absolutely perplexes me though, and although Gravity twists the reality quite a bit, it throws you through quite an awesome journey, and a good insight on the effects of space.

Like all of us pathetic nerds on here though... I couldn't resist pausing at the scenes in the ISS, looking at the Thinkpads scattered throughout.

Seems the ones we can get a good look at are A31s, easiest way to tell is by the keyboard. I believe I heard from those on here though... that the A31s on the actual ISS are the p-variants, or A31p. The only close up of a Thinkpad we get is when Sandra Bullock glances at one of the A31s perched on the module, to see the fire alert. I was able to see that it was badged "A31", and not "A31p", so... movie makers on a budget? Or too lazy to find them A31ps? There's more factors in it than that... but yeah. This I noticed.

I've always wondered what a Thinkpad(or indeed any laptop) would do confronted with that environment... of empty space. Other than overheat, because obviously; no air, nothing pushing heat, no cooling. Maybe the LCD panel would act up too?

[kony]

"Gravity" was so crappy I couldn't finish watching it, actually I think I didn't even get to the half of it. The movie is so wrong in many levels it hurt my brain and caused bleeding to my eyes. The main character, a whiny insecure woman with a character of a teenager doesn't help either.

[Medessec]

Whoa man. Some harsh criticisms. I won't pick you out for it... but a whiny insecure woman...? Probably the most cringeworthy part was when George Clooney unhooked himself, even though it was difficult to see how he was pulling her away... and maybe when she was conversing with Aningaaq, then deciding to kill herself.

She was portrayed as a missions specialist, her first real time in space. Sure, she ends up dragging George Clooney's character around, being a lump on the log and eventually killing him when you look at it from an extremely general standpoint, but it's about the experience that she gets, and the journey and resourcefulness she employs to get back.

Because this is a Thinkpad forum, I will note that watching the scene... it's very strange to see a room or location that contains a large amount of Thinkpads, other than my room.

[BillMorrow]

watched gravity a couple of times.. once alone, once with wife person..
good tale.. good special effects.. you are there, in orbit, with her..
and cheered when she gets back home planetside..
I just don't recall seeing or seeking thinkpads in that movie right at this moment but I did see some thinkpads in the real space station on nat geo a few weeks ago and I might have commented on it elsewhere..

[A31]

Yeah I saw a very interesting documentary about the ISS a few weeks ago and you could see all the ThinkPads - even had some footage of the astronauts using them to communicate with their families back on Earth. Funny how that documentary was sponsored by Toshiba (and Intel) and not Lenovo, lol.

And Lenovo recently posted a picture of ThinkPads on the ISS to their Twitter page: https://twitter.com/lenovo/status/458650667885002752

[kony]

Some (real) ISS photographs:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... adarm2.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... reezer.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... Zvezda.jpg
http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/201 ... odule1.jpg
http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/201 ... odule2.jpg
http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/201 ... odule3.jpg
http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/201 ... n_mini.jpg
http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2013/04/photo2.jpg
http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2013/04/photo3.jpg
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ ... _wmain.jpg
http://media.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/ ... tis_09.jpg
http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads ... 009858.jpg
http://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/imag ... ratory.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 73-001.jpg
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Gua ... ou-004.jpg

[emeraldgirl08]

What I wonder is if the astronauts continue to use ThinkPads when they return to earth?

[Medessec]

What I wonder is if the astronauts continue to use ThinkPads when they return to earth?

That's a wonder in itself... my wonder is- how long will Thinkpads CONTINUE to be used in space?

Some (real) ISS photographs:

Oh gahd, that's a 760 in the third picture! Some of the other photos show the 15.4" T61ps too. Hopefully the ones NASA took up there have good GPUs. I'd imagine servicing and returns on laptops up there is a bit inconvenient...

The rest of those photos are pretty awesome space shots, especially those ones showing the world lit up at night.

It's really funny to think- once we get into a Star Trek-age, where space travel and space exploration will be commonplace, or incoming "beings" viewing our planet, will get to see our planet that way on the dark side. It's pretty extraordinary.

[A31]

Seeing a lot of A31s up there. I remember mine well!

[Medessec]

I'm pretty sure A31s are pretty well-known awesome Thinkpads for you guys, but to me they were always a bit underrated... I never really got to see too many A-series, and getting my A31p has kind of opened my eyes to how awesome they are.

[A31]

Mine was old and tired when I got it but it seemed a solid machine. I certainly liked it a lot. Though I remember the speakers not being as good as everybody made them out to be....

Back to ThinkPads in space, Lenovo put another photo of ThinkPads on the ISS on their Twitter page: https://twitter.com/lenovo/status/461490193955299328 (better than the last shot, you can see lots more TPs here).

[Medessec]

Though I remember the speakers not being as good as everybody made them out to be....

The A31's speakers are good compared to other Thinkpads, and definitely one of the best speakers in what would now probably be considered a vintage. The T43 speakers, R-series, the G-series (despite the thing being 8lb and 15", the only speaker is a small one in the bottom section of the screen bezel)... even the W700 has pretty abysmal speakers for a machine of its size and quality. Thinkpads have never been known for their speakers (although the T500 did impress me a bit.)

But some other laptops completely blow the A31 out of the water. Some Dells, Toshiba Satellite and Qosmio laptops, the MSI gaming machines, Sony Vaio basic laptops, geez. These all equate or surpass the A31 in sound quality. And if you want something truly astonishing, get a Clevo D900T and get sound to play through the speakers any way you can(even the DJ deck will work, but the laptop's full power is still needed, charger or battery). Even in stereo mode, in a mid-sized bedroom, the D900T genuinely sounds like a surround sound system, and can really play the music super-loud with zero distortion. It is, essentially, the world's most expensive boombox as well as (at the time) being the world's most powerful and expensive laptop computer.

Back on topic- I can't imagine the A31's good speakers are being put to good use up on the ISS, unless the astronauts have good music to play from a CD on the A31s. It'd be a pretty sweet way to get some music going through a few of the modules.

[A31]

Back on topic- I can't imagine the A31's good speakers are being put to good use up on the ISS, unless the astronauts have good music to play from a CD on the A31s. It'd be a pretty sweet way to get some music going through a few of the modules.

Well in the documentary I watched about the ISS, the astronauts were using Skype to talk to family back on Earth.

Yeah the speakers in the A31 were OK, but then again I don't really expect laptops to have great speakers.

[ilakast]

One more freshly taken photo

https://www.flickr.com/photos/astro_alex/14362260711/

[Sleepy664]

I wonder what brand will NASA choose after the ThinkPad era. No, I can not imagine them using a W540 or anything that would come after that

It would be either Dell Precision (IMHO much better than today's ThinkPads), HP EliteBook (IMHO much better than today's ThinkPads) or some Apple.

It may sound as a heresy but I would amost bet on the Apple.

[RealBlackStuff]

I would not bet on Apple at all!
If anything goes wrong with those machines, they'd have to send a technician to the Space Station to repair them,
or wait for the next space shuttle to send a replacement...
At least anybody who does not have two left hands, can disassemble/repair/assemble a Lenovo/Dell/HP machine.
Forget about doing that with AppleMacs!

[Sleepy664]

I don't think they do laptop repairs in space -- laptop screws and other parts accidentally flying in zero gravity would be quite dangerous.

I guess they have more laptops then they need and if something dies, they just pull out a new one from the storage. Or at least that is what I would do if I were NASA

[Temetka]

That's exactly what I would do as well. It's not like you can FedEx a new laptop overnight.

[sir_synthsalot]

I wonder what brand will NASA choose after the ThinkPad era. No, I can not imagine them using a W540 or anything that would come after that

It would be either Dell Precision (IMHO much better than today's ThinkPads), HP EliteBook (IMHO much better than today's ThinkPads) or some Apple.

It may sound as a heresy but I would amost bet on the Apple.

I think the US government and NASA already switched to HP. They dropped Lenovo since they are Chinese owned. HP also provides other IT services, not just mere computers.

[Sleepy664]

[censored], you're right; I've completely forgot about this So EliteBook will come next.

I was even thinking about getting a 8560w, it is a great machine. But I hate the off centered keyboard and those stupid function keys And the weirdly placed speakers. And I like a ThinkPad design better. If only they used a magnesium instead of the plastic...

[ilakast]

It may sound as a heresy but I would amost bet on the Apple.

I think I saw an iPad? > https://www.flickr.com/photos/astro_alex/14390309812/

[jdk]

It may sound as a heresy but I would amost bet on the Apple.

I think I saw an iPad? > https://www.flickr.com/photos/astro_alex/14390309812/

Quite right. There are multiple iPads used on the ISS. I've seen them used for calling the family back home.

I was wrong earlier about the "brushed metal" MacBook/Elitebook. It must have been the glare from the live feed, but all the other pictures I've seen of a laptop in that position reveal a ThinkPad.

A late 2013 Forbes article details the laptops on the ISS. The ISS itself is run via several custom Linux distributions (Russian, Japanese, and American), while the "daily drudgery" is run on a Windows LAN.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/ ... e-station/

[ilakast]

I will stop posting pictures from the ISS, just a last one

Watching the world cup on a ThinkPad https://www.flickr.com/photos/astro_alex/14258082357/

[Saucey]

I wonder how good their internet is out in space...

[emeraldgirl08]

I wonder how good their internet is out in space...

I wonder if they can torrent in outer space

[Norway Pad]

I watched Gravity during a transatlantic flight, so it felt a little extra real when I looked out of the window. Not very impressing in terms of how realistic and accurate it is, but if you take it for what it is; pure entertainment, it was ok. I knew from before that they use Thinkpads in the ISS, so I was very exited to see if the movie was accurate in that respect. And it was.

[kony]

I wonder how good their internet is out in space...

ISS has a 10Mbit/s download and 3Mbit/s upload connection nowadays. In comparison, Voyagers have a connection speed of 160 bps.