The final shuttle flights: how expensive and how necessary?

The Space Review ^ | 12/05/05 | Taylor Dinerman

[KevinDavis]

Scrap the Hubble.... Flame suit on...

[KevinDavis]

[thecabal]

Why don't you like Hubble?

[KevinDavis]

Cause I think the money can be spent on better programs say like human missions to the moon or better ways to send humans to Mars...

[RunningWolf]

I agree the Hubble has served a great scientific purpose but how much more can they get out of it? Do you think the Shuttle will fly again? I don't. Is there still a need for a shuttle vehicle?

If Boeing can build the 787 out of carbon composites, what would it take to make a new Shuttle vehicle out of similar material?

Wolf

[clee1]

The shuttle was a bill-of-goods pork-barrel from jump.

A "cheaper, reuseable space vehicle"???? Yeah, right.

[KevinDavis]

Who knows.. You are right, the Hubble did the job. Time to move on.

As for the Shuttle flying again. I think so. The reason is that it has to finish the ISS.

[markman46]

when is the replacement suppost to be ready?

[RunningWolf]

I would like to see the ISS get going again, but my gut says the Shuttle will never fly again to support it.

I think our space exploration is somewhat stalled until new propulsion systems are developed. You can only get so much bang out of liquid and solid fueled rockets. Kind of like the diminishing returns of the piston engine in aviation.

Wolf

[PAR35]

Cause I think the money can be spent on better programs say like human missions to the moon

The Hubble provides new information. How much will science be advanced by bringing home a few new moon rocks? What will a human do on Mars that can't be done by machine?

Save the science, scrap the PR missions.

[KevinDavis]

Space is not about science or taking pretty pictures...

[Strategerist]

I would like to see the ISS get going again

I'd like to see the ISS get going....on re-entering the atmosphere. I'd jump up and down and cheer watching it streak across the sky in flames.

[greasepaint]

Servicing the Hubble, is the only useful thing the
Shuttle does.
The 'next generation space telescope',is not
an improved replacement for the Hubble,
the wavelenth coverage is different.

We don't need more repeats of
Zero-G spider web experiments,
as recommended by six year olds.

[RunningWolf]

Are you suggesting the ISS has no value?

[PAR35]

Space is not about science or taking pretty pictures...

Then what is it about? If just defense, can the manned program completely.

[FreedomCalls]

I'd like to see the ISS get going....on re-entering the atmosphere. I'd jump up and down and cheer watching it streak across the sky in flames.

On the other hand the ISS does keep Russian rocket scientists gainfully employed working on a peaceful program rather than selling their expertise to the Chinese, North Korean, or Iranians to work on perfecting their ICBM programs. It's well worth the cost just for that.

[RunningWolf]

//Keeping those guys gainfully employed working on a peaceful program rather than selling their expertise to the Chinese, North Korean, or Iranians to work on perfecting their ICBM programs.//

Its absolutely worth the cost of that!

Wolf

[Moonman62]

Save the science, scrap the PR missions.

Yep, the more the politicians micromanage the worse NASA screws up.

[Moonman62]

On the other hand the ISS does keep Russian rocket scientists gainfully employed working on a peaceful program rather than selling their expertise to the Chinese, North Korean, or Iranians to work on perfecting their ICBM programs. It's well worth the cost just for that.

That ship has already sailed. But the ISS keeps some American bureaucrats employed.

[RunningWolf]

Unfortunately you may be or probably are right on that one.

Wolf