Comments on: Retire the Shuttle now?

By: PhilK

PhilK — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:56:12 +0000

I think all will agree that “Space” is an inherently dangerous place. Yes, we have had accidents…. possibly avoidable. We will continue to have accidents. We will also continue to learn. We have learned a great deal since 1984 and the first Shuttle flight. Perhaps we should draw a parallel to the avation evolution as a whole.

With what we learned fron the Shuttle we should be building the next generation Shuttle instead if falling back to 1969 technology. The Russians can continue to provide the world with well tested 1969 technology.

Budget problems will always be “Budget Problems” . However, if we look at the people and hardware payload the Shuttle is capable of it becomes a lot more economical then re-developing technology already available from our Russian space partners. Our next step should be building the next generation Shuttle.

By: RAD

RAD — Fri, 12 May 2006 08:51:19 +0000

Lets just use that flying saucer we have in area 51

By: Irishman

Irishman — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:09:40 +0000

Arguable. Many people feel a better approach than launching a goal to reach out is to first establish a space infrastructure. That means cheaper, more ready access to space, and the ability to build/assembly larger space vehicles in LEO to send farther away.

The Shuttle was supposed to be one element of that plan. A Space Station was supposed to be another element. Neither really accomplishes their role in that plan, though that isn’t to say that we haven’t learned from both.

Gary, if by catapult you mean a spring loaded lever arm, that would be pretty funny. If you mean an EM rail type device, that is one approach to launch vehicles. There are serious challenges to overcome. Lauch site needs to be near Equator. Preferably running up a mountain. Then you need a precisely aligned path for several miles (no earthquakes). Now you need a way to remove the air from the whole length of the tube, or deal with the shock wave built up in the tunnel. Plus there are acceleration concerns – people don’t like being slung faster than about 3 or 4 gees. Some payloads can’t take much more than that, either. The larger the accelerations, the more robust the designs have to be, trading viable payload for structural integrity.

Another possibility is the space elevator – the tether system. There are numerous design challenges with that as well. One key challenge is making the tether strong enough and large enough to sustain strikes from debris and still function long enough to be repaired. Also sending power to the climbers. Making climbers that can grip the tether and still climb with a reasonable speed (50 mph?). It doesn’t look impossible, but it does look challenging.

The alternative is to use existing technology to do something now. This gets us back into space exploration, but we still need to commit to future launch technology development. The inevitable funding shortage awaits.

By: Troy

Troy — Wed, 10 May 2006 06:20:32 +0000

I agree with the essay, one last mission to Hubble and retire on that high note. If or I should say when another accident occurs the Shuttle program will be over anyway and who wants to end on that note.
Goverment workers not having anything to do is no reason to keep the Shuttle going.
The Shuttle was an idea worth pursuing, it didn’t live up to its mandate so kill it without flinching. Reusability isn’t all it was cracked up to be. Another issue the Shuttle doesn’t capture the public’s imagination. A manned mission to the Moon, Mars, and/or Near Earth Asteroid will generate a lot of excitement, we need to pursue the new avenue without delay and without another wastefull shuttle launch. 10 years without manned flight isn’t that long to wait, we waited more than 2 just between accidents.

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Tue, 09 May 2006 19:55:18 +0000

How about launching via a really BIG catapault???

GAry7

By: Irishman

Irishman — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:28:25 +0000

Brody specifically stated performing Hubble repair before canning Shuttle.

By: Kaptain K

Kaptain K — Tue, 09 May 2006 11:11:59 +0000

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned: No Shuttle = no Hubble repair!