Def. off Topic, Shuttle ends in 2010, Thoughts?

[KarlCarrera]

Seems as though we've always been involved the 'the race'. Unless NASA comes up with an alternative, are we really going to depend on the 'Russians' to get us to 'our' $250B space station past 2010? Obviously this pushes many dollars into the economy, well paying blue and white collar jobs. Not to mention technology.

Curious

Karl
88 Targa

[onewhippedpuppy]

It's being replaced by the Aries rocket, but it won't be operational until about 2015. It's a shame to see the shuttle go, what a cool piece of tech. I know the rocket is much more affordable to operate, but it feels very 1960 to me.

[GH85Carrera]

I think it is crazy to retire the shuttle until we have an operational replacement. Refurbish, and keep flying them. NASA did not ask me.

[red-beard]

It should have been retired in the 1980's. It was NOT the space truck. It was a test vehicle for re-useable spacecraft. We lost 2 shuttles because we treated it like it was old hat. It was a very dangerous vehicle.

Should we keep it going for 5 more years? Yes. We don't have an alternative, and Aries may not even be ready then!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

NASA is going to look awfully stupid when the first Aries blows up. And eventually, one will.

[RWebb]

I asked NASA to send me some shuttle tiles to insulate the rear firewall on my 911.


For some reason, I have not heard back from them....

[m21sniper]

The shuttle program was a white elephant. It always has been. They also lost a lot of crews in them.

It's time to go.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by RWebb

I asked NASA to send me some shuttle tiles to insulate the rear firewall on my 911.


For some reason, I have not heard back from them....

That is some seriously funny schizzle right there...

You shoulda' thrown in "I've got money! I can pay you for 'em"

I hear they're desperate for funding these days. Bet they couldn't resist.

[Nostril Cheese]

Imagine what NASA could have done with the shuttle if they had Apollo era funding?

[tcar]

Originally Posted by RWebb

I asked NASA to send me some shuttle tiles to insulate the rear firewall on my 911.


For some reason, I have not heard back from them....

Shoot, buy the whole thing, they have several for sale:

Red tag sale: NASA cuts space shuttle price - Return to Flight- msnbc.com

[Nostril Cheese]

How much do you suppose transportation and handling of the SSME costs? My father lives near Edwards AFB....

[aigel]

I have been to the Houston Control Room about 8 years back. They were running a simulated mission. People were eating at their desks, leaning back in their chairs, bored stiff. Fast food cups and paper everywhere. I am not surprised their stuff fell out the sky, frankly, they sure didn't look terribly serious about their work.

There isn't much need to put people up into space any more. You do the math - even at light speed won't be going terribly far any time soon in spaceships. I am a big fan of the unmanned missions - no shuttle needed for that. They should put more money that way.

George

[Jim Richards]

The resale market for shuttles will be soft at first, with all of them coming on the market at once. We may also see enthusiasts start up support groups like the SSWDP or SS Gruppe.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

Imagine what NASA could have done with the shuttle if they had Apollo era funding?

Exactly. This is the exact reason the Russians were brought in to help with ISS launches, etc. After the glory of the Apollo missions faded, Joe Public couldn't care less about the space program and NASA's funding from Congress reflected that.

I worked closely with Rockwell (and then USA) Orbiter folks for years when I was designing hardware that interfaced with the shuttle. Keeping something that complicated flying was no small feat. Doing things that no one has ever done before always brings risk. Early on in the shuttle program it was estimated that one Orbiter would be lost approximately every 50 flights (that number varies depending on who you talk to now).

Overall, the Orbiters are getting old and it is time to replace them. I hate to see them go, though. Many fond memories...

[herr_oberst]

The Evergreen Aviation Museum has a good chance of getting a Shuttle for display, the museum is in McMinnville Or,; very close to Portland. It would be a nice addition to the Hughes Air Boat and the SR71 Blackbird, not to mention the ME109 and the Mustang.

[Jim Richards]

We have the Enterprise at the National Air & Space Museum - Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles airport. It's quite incredible when you're up close to one.

[tcar]

Part of the reason:

The Shuttle can transport about 25 tons into space, the Ares V is projected to be able to transport 190 tons per flight. The Shuttle is VERY heavy relative to payload.

No 'external fuel tank' on the Ares V, either.

[IROC]

Anybody remember Shuttle-C?

[legion]

Originally Posted by tcar

Part of the reason:

The Shuttle can transport about 25 tons into space, the Ares V is projected to be able to transport 190 tons per flight. The Shuttle is VERY heavy relative to payload.

No 'external fuel tank' on the Ares V, either.

That's the cost of "re-usability".

Also is the fact that much must be checked and replaced between flights.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by tcar

Part of the reason:

The Shuttle can transport about 25 tons into space, the Ares V is projected to be able to transport 190 tons per flight. The Shuttle is VERY heavy relative to payload.

No 'external fuel tank' on the Ares V, either.

The Shuttle is only good for LEO. All the crap about servicing SATs was just that. The shuttle cannot reach GEO-synch orbit.

It was sold as the "Space Truck". Bad idea. We should have developed 2 designs: People transporter, and heavy lift vehicle. Aries is what we should have developed instead of the shuttle.