Free Republic

Last Chapter Opens For Space Shuttle Born Of Compromise By Brian Berger, Space News, August 15, 2005 Space Shuttle Discovery’s return-to-flight mission marks the beginning of the end for a program whose design evolution exemplifies the pitfalls NASA is seeking to avoid as it embarks on a new direction in space exploration. Thirty-five years ago, when NASA was struggling to make the case for a new space transportation system, it promised to build a reusable vehicle that would haul all of the nation’s civil, military and even commercial satellites into orbit and eventually help construct a space station. The melding...