[bvw]

When did Dr. Kervorkian become NASA director? You should, we should all, have higher standards -- it would be a cheaper space expolration if we just handed the astronauts a 10 shot revolver with nine empty chambers, and a good personal telescope and camera. That'd be better safety than NASCAR too, I guess. And about the same science results.

As my friend anarcho-libertarian "Wild Bill" says ... "Hey if it [the shuttle] was military, I'd be 100% for it." He's right, such risks might be acceptable to acheive a military goal, in in the framework of a (theoretically) higher military accountability. Practically the shuttle is not only lousy for science, not only "jams the channel" for space-enterprise both public and private, but would be a ultra-lousy military platform too.

NASA has NO institutional common sense to even continue with it. You'll notice the military has run away from it, some years back. Thankfully!

[lepton]

Practically the shuttle is not only lousy for science, not only "jams the channel" for space-enterprise both public and private, but would be a ultra-lousy military platform too.

This was the first "science mission" in over two years.