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The Space Shuttle's last flight is now underway. Retrospective here. I remember the first flight. Now, they're museum pieces as soon as this last trip is over.

-- GSH

Now, they're museum pieces as soon as this last trip is over.

Imagine the price of tickets....

End of an era.

That said, the retirement of the fleet has been long past due. Too bad funding had been cut so often over the years making the development of a replacement vehicle possible.

Ah well, guess it'll end up as private enterprise now.

Actually you will be paying Russia to launch your stuff...

More like China in a few years.....

Is it too late to pull back from the ultra-capitalist economic strategy? can you really maintain a nuclear defence when the people you point them at are going to be launching your guidance satellites for you? hey maybe you can contract out the missile and warhead manufacture too! Wont be long before your flying Migs from carriers built and leased from China...hell they can even provide the sailors too if they want!

Meh. I wish the Space program would get more attention. Hell I wish the UK had a decent one of its own.

I still don't understand the reason for a LAST flight...

Baconboy wrote:I still don't understand the reason for a LAST flight...

The reason is that the space shuttle fleet will no longer be flying. The things are into their 30s now and were supposed to be retired a decade ago.
That was literally the last flight for Atlantis, and correct me if I'm wrong, but also the last flight of any shuttle.

Last flight? Well, the Shuttle is rare -- 3 working ones left, so each flight has a decent risk that 33% of the fleet wouldn't make it back. All the recent flights have required a second shuttle near launch status so that if there's a problem, they can send up a rescue one to bring everyone back. Plus, they're expensive. The Space Shuttle is like a rare sports car that's really fancy, but it requires 3-6 months of ripping apart and servicing between flights. That kind of work costs plenty of $$$ to do. It's at least $500 million per flight. NASA's been spending so much on shuttle launches they haven't been able to really afford much serious work on any successor.

As a government entity, NASA's under the problem of having to beg 536 people for budget every year. (435 representatives, where US budgets must start, 100 senators, 1 president). There's a reason why the Shuttle had parts made in all 435 congressional districts -- they could say "vote for the shuttle, or jobs back home will be lost." Private companies aren't as beholden to trying to please so many fickle people.

US military and non-human commercial rockets are still doing fine. If it absolutely, positively, has to be rubble in 30 minutes or less, the US can do that just fine. But, for human-rated rockets, it's been a mess. A lot of that is the lack of a compelling vision for *why* we should go or do anything. And part of that vision comes from the civilian sector. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

-- GSH

Constellation/Ares program is inactive now

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares_IV_%2 ... 29#Ares_IV

so, all planned missions/remaining launches are probes and satellites:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/index.html

We finally make it somewhat safe with the laser scanning of the tiles and the 2nd shuttle on the pad, and now we cancel it... With nothing to replace it. News flash, Russian space shuttle equivalents are not as safe, and now they have a monopoly.

They'll beat us to the bio-metal deposits on the moon!

heh, nah, the good stuff was on the dark side of the moon and we already got it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wJYpRJQ ... dded#at=30

https://www.facebook.com/thesaganseries ... 2544333196