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The Space Shuttle program was extended several times beyond its originally-envisioned 15 year life span because of the delays in building the United States space station in low Earth orbit — a project which eventually evolved into the International Space Station. It was formally scheduled for mandatory retirement in 2010 in accord with the directives President George W. Bush issued on January 14, 2004 in his Vision for Space Exploration.[8]. However, the final Shuttle launch was that of Atlantis on July 8, 2011. According to the Vision for Space Exploration, the next manned NASA program was to be Project Constellation with its Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion Spacecraft; however, the Constellation program was controversial and never fully funded, and in early 2010 the Obama administration asked Congress to instead endorse a plan with heavy reliance on the private sector for delivering cargo and crew to LEO .
If the NASA was still in the space shuttle business there is no way they would have developed a new shuttle vehicle for the next several years at least.
I find it ironic it's conservative that are always b*tching about government spending and promoting free enterprise. We now have a private company, Space X, which has just successfully delivered a cargo load to the International Space Station. The federal money the might have been used to develop another shuttle for NASA can now be used for other space exploration programs.
And we all should be driving Model T's, too. The shuttle is old technology. Why should we hold on to this tech when it will delay the development of better options.
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why not a better shuutle (darn, my fingers are just too fast sometimes....shuttle)
old tech?? so you are saying the government never updates??
so you are a liberals who is for privatization??
why is it when liberals look to cuts its always NASA, DOD and medicare....do liberals not like space explosation and science, national security and old people...are liberals that against old people???
why not a better shuutle (darn, my fingers are just too fast sometimes....shuttle)
old tech?? so you are saying the government never updates??
so you are a liberals who is for privatization??
why is it when liberals look to cuts its always NASA, DOD and medicare....do liberals not like space explosation and science, national security and old people...are liberals that against old people???
Because that's where the money is. NASA is peanuts, but DOD, Medicare, and Social Security IS pretty much the whole budget. If you don't cut any of them, then you're not really making cuts.
"CUT THE BUDGETS!! CUUUUT THE BUDGETS!!!! SMALL GOVERNMENT! CUT EVERYTHING!
....just don't cut my flying saucer program. waaaah waaah "
the shuttle should be in space with the federal space program, instead of being dissed to the side , like a piece of trash, by the obama admin
If you want to pretend to have an informed opinion on space, demonstrate some basic knowledge of the facts. The decision to retire the Shuttle in 2010 was announced in 2004. Google for yourself who was heading up the administration back then.
Last edited by Dane_in_LA; 06-05-2012 at 10:50 AM..
Houston is only the place that has the best in this field..... of course the shuttle should there
The best in what field? Building spacecraft? Weird, because the Shuttle was built in California.
Now, if you want to argue that Houston has the best in the field of getting access to sweet government pork, churning out tons of paper and calling it space exploration, perhaps you would have had a point.
And as I've posted before, looking at how Houston treated the Saturn V they got, well...
Last edited by Dane_in_LA; 06-05-2012 at 10:52 AM..
Johnson Space Center - Houston - you know, mission control for the shuttle flights?
I think you mean here in Oregon, at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Musuem, who spent several million dollars to build a climate controlled building for it.
VS Houston who were so "sure" they were getting a shuttle, that they didn't even build a building to house it.
No offense, but a bit peeved as the Enterprise specifically had been promised to us by NASA for a decade, and then Obama stuck his foot in last minute and decided to send it some where else.
It was long before planned to be phased out...Obama had nothing to do with it. They actually kept it flying past the original end date.
I find it curious how no one cared about Gemini or Apollo being phased out but some how this one bothers them.
Nasa has some projects on the drawing board (under the Obama administration) including manned flights to Mars.
The recent success of the private company docking with the space station should make many happy as it is no longer "big government" handling those missions but private endeavors.
I think because nothing else on really on the table right now - that's why people seem to care more. He mentions Mars, but what really is happening there?
That fact is they are old and expensive to run. It's only a matter of time before there was another accident, development started when I was adolescent and I'm middle aged now. Sad as it is to see them go, it's time.
They're also horrendously expensive to run and the design is unsound from a crew safety perspective.
Quote:
The Ares I which would have launched crew was tested, the Ares V which would have launched heavy payloads never made it to the pad
Well, sorta. Something called an Ares-Ix was tested, but if you look at the specs, it was an off-the-shelf Shuttle solid rocket booster with a boilerplate 5th segment, a boilerplate 2nd stage and a boilerplate capsule.
The entire thing lifted off and splashed into the Atlantic as per spec, but I wouldn't call it an Ares-I test.
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NASA is peanuts, but DOD, Medicare, and Social Security IS pretty much the whole budget. If you don't cut any of them, then you're not really making cuts.
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