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I just wanted to put my thoughts on this matter past you guys.
A lot of people have been saying we shouldnt overly criticise the shuttle lest congress feel chastised and refuse to go out on a limb on future space projects.
However my feelings are that if the shuttle were retired now, there would quickly be a wave of nostalgia afterward, praising the 'ageing workhorse' that got us all so far, how it was way ahead of its time, how brave and american all the pioneering astronauts who flew on her were and how it is has laid a great foundation for future efforts. Im sure there would be petitions in no time calling for the shuttle to be brough back into service (just like people who called for the venture star to be finished), and im sure congress would quickly approve the next big project.
My point is that history will always remember the good points and gloss over the bad points - we should retire the shuttle, gracefully; it will quickly be replaced, and hopefully NASA will get it right this time.
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My point is that history will always remember the good points and gloss over the bad points - we should retire the shuttle, gracefully; it will quickly be replaced, and hopefully NASA will get it right this time.
that is absolutly right, it should be replaced. Have one dedicated heavy lifter and one dedicated personal carrier and NASA can do no wrong. the shuttle was an ungodly combination of 'lite' heavy lifter and 'some' personal carrier, the least efficent rocket that NASA could ever come up with.
"I am the spritual son of Abraham, I fear no man and no man controls my destiny"
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You want nostalgia? Just "google" BURAN--it makes me want to cry, the missed opportunities due to (a) the old Soviet penchant for secrecy and (b) the "not invented here" attitude of the NASA crowd. Now that Russia has "told all," it's obvious they had a winner there; which could have taken us through to 2000, completing the ISS as a waystation, when the next generation LEO vehicles could take over in my lifetime. Now I'm becoming just a grumbling old space-travel fan, dreaming of maglev launchings up the slopes of equatorial volcanos, that I'll never live to see. To paraphrase: Damn the politicians ... full speed ahead!
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