Free Republic

Last month’s launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery represented an ominous “milestone” in America’s space program. Previously, every major space mishap was followed by thorough investigations, and no effort or expense was spared in executing a proper fix. This time however, things were different. Breaking completely with NASA’s history, the Columbia disaster was not followed by an appropriate redesign of crucial components, but by major cover-up operation. From almost the moment of the accident, official NASA mouthpieces were intent on discrediting suggestions that foam from the giant external tank had torn loose and fatally damaged the spacecraft during launch. The...

How many problems does it take for “one of the most sophisticated systems ever produced by man” to become just another white elephant? A lot of people have been asking that about the Space Shuttle lately. But the Space Shuttle’s downward spiral started long, long ago. In fact, it started in the Nixon Administration. In the days of triumph which were Apollo, NASA -- still capable of bold vision -- laid out a plan to explore and settle the Solar System. Among its more prominent features were a series of follow-on Moon missions which more resembled Lewis and Clark (or...

It's all but official—Russia and Europe will soon embark on a cooperative effort to build a next-generation manned space shuttle. Speaking at the Paris Air Show, in Le Bourget, France, in June, Russian space officials confirmed earlier reports from Moscow that their partners at the European Space Agency would join the Russian effort to build a new reusable orbiter, dubbed Kliper. After the cautious optimism they expressed at the beginning of 2005, Russians are now confident that their European partners will be on board for the largest, boldest Russian endeavor in spaceflight in more than a decade. "The prospects of...

ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow region), August 18 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Space Agency Roscosmos will sell a Soyuz spacecraft, a carrier rocket and launch services to NASA for some $65 million, if the American agency approves the deal, a Roscosmos official told journalists Thursday. Roscosmos manned flight programs head Alexei Krasnov said the deal, which includes a Russian cosmonaut as shuttle commander, might be changed to take inflation into account. He explained that Russia's commitments on American astronauts' delivery to the International Space Station would expire in spring 2006, meaning that in April 2006, two seats in the Soyuz would be...

DWARDS AIR FORCE BASE – Space shuttle Discovery is tentatively scheduled to leave California on Friday, more than a week after it was diverted to the Mojave Desert in the first shuttle flight since the Columbia accident. Discovery's cross-country ferry to Cape Canaveral, Fla., expected to cost at least $1 million, has been postponed twice – first because of Monday's thunderstorms, then because of problems Wednesday in trying to attach a 10,000-pound aluminum tail cone to the shuttle to eliminate drag during flight.

NASA may push back plans to launch its next shuttle mission until March 2006, allowing engineers more time to solve an ongoing foam shedding problem with orbiter external tanks. A September launch attempt of the space shuttle Atlantis and its STS-121 mission – NASA’s second orbiter to fly since the Columbia disaster – is all but out, with space agency officials stating last week that chances were slim they would make the four-day window that opens on Sept. 22. Shuttle managers are discussing whether to push past a brief, four-day launch window in November, and even switch shuttles – launching...

The McLaughlin Group is a political debate show that's nationally syndicated and will air a show this weekend on "Shelving the Shuttle FOR GOOD". Presumably it's showing on NBC in your area, although one can check at: http://www.mclaughlin.com .

Waiting in the Wings: Expedition 12, Space Tourist Olsen Prepare By Tariq Malik Staff Writer posted: 11 August 2005 06:44 am ET HOUSTON—As the crew of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery celebrates their safe return to Earth, two astronauts are gearing up for their own launch toward the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronaut Bill McArthur and Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev are set to ride a Soyuz spacecraft to the station in October on the twelfth expedition to the ISS. McArthur will command ISS Expedition 12, with Tokarev serving as flight engineer. Physicist Gregory Olsen, a paying spaceflight participant whose trip...

With Discovery parked safely on the tarmac in California, the fate of the nation's manned space program now rests on the research teams assigned by NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin to figure out why at least four large pieces of insulating foam broke away from the shuttle's enormous external fuel tank. The teams, composed of engineers from NASA and Lockheed Martin's Michoud assembly facility in Louisiana, where the tanks are manufactured, were scheduled to give a preliminary report yesterday to Griffin and space station manager William H. Gerstenmaier. NASA has promised a fully "transparent" investigation, and initial findings may be...

Well since the shuttle landing was scapped this morning due to the weather. Well second time is the charm.

Well since the Space Shuttle is landing at 4:45 am, I figure I start a live thread now (I won't be awake)...

ASTRONAUTS aboard Discovery were upbeat overnight as they readied for re-entry into the atmosphere, but remembered the crew of Columbia who lost their lives at that critical stage of the mission. Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot James Kelly both said they had no worries about today's scheduled landing in Florida and said Discovery was in great shape. The crew and NASA managers hailed what they said was the complete success of the first space shuttle flight since the February 1, 2003 Columbia disaster. Despite the optimism, Discovery will be grounded with the rest of the fleet once it returns to...

Discovery's astronauts had misgivings about the risky spacewalk mission to the shuttle's fragile belly but agreed to try the repair because it seemed relatively easy to do, crewmembers said on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Steve Robinson will make space history when he ventures out to Discovery's smooth underside to try to remove two loose fiber strips sticking out from between the crucial heat-resistant tiles. "Like most kinds of repairs, it's conceptually very simple, but it has to be done very, very carefully," Robinson said during a news conference from space on NASA's first shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster. The...

height="15" /> Captain's Blog Space News & General Commentary by Richard C. Hoagland Monday, August 01, 2005 Return to Flight -- NOT Yet ... Maybe ... NEVER!? So, the Shuttle Fleet is grounded because of foam coming off the Tank ... again. Is this truly a surprise? What is surprising is that the Space Agency told us ... while Discovery is still in orbit!In striking contrast to the actions of the JPL management and scientific team controlling the increasingly mysterious Deep Impact Mission these past few weeks, NASA Shuttle managers overseeing the on-going STS-114 Discovery Mission have displayed a remarkable...

Last Updated: Tuesday, 2 August 2005, 02:57 GMT 03:57 UK Space shuttle to get critical fix By Paul Rincon BBC News science reporter, Houston Experts are confident the shuttle will return safely to Earth An astronaut is to make unprecedented repairs to the space shuttle Discovery, the US space agency Nasa has announced.Stephen Robinson will remove strips that are sticking out between heat shield tiles on Discovery's belly. Nasa is concerned the dangling material - called gap fillers - could cause part of the shuttle to overheat as it re-enters the atmosphere. Astronauts have never fixed a shuttle's heat...

CBS/AP) NASA has decided to order an unprecedented repair mission by Discovery's astronauts on Wednesday to repair a potential problem on the shuttle's belly, CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports. Meanwhile, two Discovery astronauts went for a spacewalk Monday to make repairs on the international space station. Astronauts Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi spent seven hours exchanging a broken down 660-pound gyroscope, which failed in 2002, with a new one. "Oh, the view is priceless," Noguchi said as he hitched a ride to Discovery's cargo bay on the outpost's robotic arm. "I can see the moon."

NASA ORDERS SPACEWALK TO FIX DANGLING STRIPS

The time has come to shelve the 1970’s designed Space Shuttle. We can no longer trust the aging machine with human lives. The Shuttle seems to fall apart at launch and burn up on reentry, yet we can not retire it with a half finished International Space Station. It’s a problem NASA must address immediately. The solution is easy, but NASA must swallow their pride and get to work. The Space Shuttle must lose its manned flight rating today. But, we should not retire the shuttle- it still serves a function we desperately need. NASA ought to redesign the control...

HOUSTON, July 27 - NASA suspended further flights of the space shuttle fleet on Wednesday after determining that a large piece of insulating foam had broken off the external fuel tank of the Discovery shortly after liftoff Tuesday morning, the same problem that doomed the Columbia and its seven astronauts in the last mission, two and a half years ago. The foam does not appear to have struck the Discovery, so the decision will not curtail its 12½-day mission to the International Space Station, the officials said. But further flights will be postponed indefinitely, starting with that of the Atlantis,...

The shuttle Discovery, like Columbia, shed a large chunk of foam debris during liftoff that could have threatened the return of the seven astronauts, NASA said Wednesday. While there are no signs the piece of insulation damaged the spacecraft, NASA is grounding future shuttle flights until the hazard can be fixed. "Call it luck or whatever, it didn't harm the orbiter," said shuttle program manager Bill Parsons. If the foam had broken away earlier in flight, when the atmosphere is thicker increasing the likelihood of impact, it could have caused catastrophic damage to Discovery. "We think that would have been...