[DoughtyOne]

I’m going to have to admit to thinking that we’ve needed to go another direction, for quite some time now. In the 28 years since our first shuttle launch we have had 126 (plus this one) missions. That’s a little more than 4.5 missions per year.

The goal should be executing that many (126) successful launches in a year. We need a fleet of vehicles that can be launched, execute a mission, return to earth, and be ready for another mission the next day. If that is not attainable right now, then at the very least we need something under a week turnaround at the very max, and a fleet of five to then orbiters.

My fear is that we’re headed into another boondoggle where we get three more orbiters, and another 4.5 missions per year out of them. Even at ten missions, that’s just design for failure for an earnest program.

[NormsRevenge]

I’d love to see a surface to orbit vehicle utilizing a different launch method that didn’t take so much work prepping and such. The problem will be one of payload.

RamJets, ScramJets come to mind.

with budgets limited as they have been for years tho, I don’t see a lot of change on the horizon.

[Moonman62]

The real problem is there is not a purpose for even a single mission. The ISS is a money pit that should be splashed in the Pacific, and it would be cheaper to launch a whole new Hubble on an unmanned rocket, rather than send a Shuttle to repair it.

The only current purpose for numerous space missions would be tourism. Still, Shuttle missions are prestigious and they maintain our superior launching capability.