US space shuttle program all over?

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Recent launch while successful in that there was no tragedy, it seems that once again a large hunk of foam fell off. Media Rumblings have been beefed up regarding the shuttle being a dinosaur and rather dangerous to send into space again and perhaps it should be shelved entirely. Nothing new that is ready to fly - just prototypes that could take decades to bring to fruition. Does this mean the end of the space program?

― Wiggy (Wiggy), Thursday, 28 July 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

space program: no ; the shuttle program was being phased out anyway (it was a bad idea to begin with).

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 July 2005 21:49 (twenty years ago)

the shuttle program should've been shut down after the Challenger. it was never a very good idea in the first place - there are much more economical, safe, practical ways to get into space. Having a giant space plane that can land and take off is not one of them.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 28 July 2005 21:50 (twenty years ago)

I thought it was so cool to begin with, but Mo, I am beginning to see your point. 7 live persons in a tin can strapped to a big bomb that is lit on fire, does not seem like a smart idea. However, I love the idea of space exploration and am saddened that if we have nothing to go up in space the funding will be lost and pfft! there goes space exploration. Then all that money will get spent on fun things like invading countries and bombing people that the gov thinks have WMD (even if they don't) and we won't ever get back into space. I'm also confused by the idea that it is a simplier thing to explore space than the deepest oceans right here on our planet. Thoughts?

― Wiggy (Wiggy), Thursday, 28 July 2005 22:20 (twenty years ago)

don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE space exploration proponent. NASA has been wasting valuable time and money with the Shuttle fleet when they could have been directing resources to a wider variety of more flexible programs that would return bigger scientific, economic, and political dividends. Get one Gerard K. O'Neill "The High Frontier", etc.

(and don't worry, space travel WILL happen, out of necessity. funding isn't going to dry up now, especially with the recent stellar successes of the Mars probes. I expect to see a human on Mars within my lifetime, if not within the next 10-20 years.)

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 28 July 2005 22:25 (twenty years ago)

The shuttles are dumb. As a payload delivering vehicle, the Russian Soyuz is vastly cheaper and more reliable. We got to start making a Mars rocket and quit fucking around with the International Space Station, which is a really expensive crock of shit.

― andy --, Thursday, 28 July 2005 23:17 (twenty years ago)

AMEN.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 28 July 2005 23:20 (twenty years ago)

andy OTM. There was some great research being done on nuclear propulsion that, while seemingly scary, could potentially transport 100 tons into space. Nixon killed that long ago and much of that momentum was lost. The shuttle program and ISS kept that momentum from ever gaining steam again.

― Tinman: Set to Self-Destruct (cprek), Thursday, 28 July 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO THE MOON IN 2020????

― Homosexual II (Homosexual II), Thursday, 28 July 2005 23:36 (twenty years ago)

let's all suck dick on the moon

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Thursday, 28 July 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

The international space station can't be built without the shuttle, large parts of it are already fabricated by other (not US) countries and require the shuttle to move it up there. Can't be fitted to other rockets, etc.

NASA's long term funding right now is contigent on getting to the moon (or mars). They need other country's support if they are going to do any such thing, hence the interest in finishing the ISS. The shuttle will run until the ISS is finished, at which point they'll probably stop flying the things.

― Rhodia (Rhodia), Friday, 29 July 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

China will get to the moon before we go back there, due to the lack of long-term funding. remember the whole "MARS, bitchez! M! A! R! S!" segment of the 2004 State of the Union address? Dubya flicked a measly extra billion to NASA after that.

it's unfortunate that private space programs are still so embryonic right now. that failed probe a coupla months ago didn't help things.

― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 29 July 2005 02:28 (twenty years ago)

Screw the shuttle. Space elevator!

(which is actually probably a way better investment, and could probably be done reasonably cheap compared to the unbelievably expensive shuttle and space station programs)

― mikef (mfleming), Friday, 29 July 2005 02:59 (twenty years ago)

Awww... Spaaaace elevator...

― Masonic Boom (kate), Friday, 29 July 2005 06:49 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://www.greenwichschools.org/ems/bookclub05/DahlPB/Charlie%20Glass%20Elevator.gif

― Come Back Johnny B (Johnney B), Friday, 29 July 2005 07:27 (twenty years ago)

Space elevators are nice but we don't have the materials technology at the moment, any manned mission to Mars would probably need to be constructed in space which means using the ISS as a base which means we need the shuttle in the short medium term, I say give the Russians the money they've always been better at the space technology thing.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Friday, 29 July 2005 07:46 (twenty years ago)

five years pass...

Obligatory "Challenger explosion was 25 years ago today" post.

― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Friday, 28 January 2011 21:43 (fifteen years ago)

Yeppers. The space shuttle was an attempt to force the space program to fit a model that sounded good to the non-engineers, but never made much engineering sense. The fact that it worked as well as it did (rather poorly, but still... it worked) is a testament both to the engineers and to the amount of money NASA was willing to sink into it.

― Aimless, Friday, 28 January 2011 22:07 (fifteen years ago)

three months pass...

http://i.imgur.com/r8Dip.jpg
photo of Endeavor taken by @Stefmara from her plane

― that whore of your grandfather's (rip van wanko), Monday, 16 May 2011 16:24 (fifteen years ago)

That looks awesome! But because of all those low clouds, I couldn't see the damn launch! >:(

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 16 May 2011 19:11 (fifteen years ago)

Aw you of all people! Was this the last one then? I thought there was one more in June.

― The man who mistook his life for a FAP (Trayce), Tuesday, 17 May 2011 04:40 (fifteen years ago)

There's one more.

― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 05:01 (fifteen years ago)

nine months pass...

Rare amateur video of Challenger disaster discovered 26 years later.

― A Full Torgo Apparition (Phil D.), Wednesday, 29 February 2012 16:25 (fourteen years ago)

Even now, I dunno if I can watch that.

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 29 February 2012 19:47 (fourteen years ago)

Oh god its so weird how no one realises anything went wrong :/

― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Thursday, 1 March 2012 02:24 (fourteen years ago)

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