jetsfan Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Scheduled for 11:26am EST on Friday morning. All is a go for now. Weather is iffy for tomorrow (30%). Tomorrow is a very sad/happy day. Having spent the last 11 years working on the Space Shuttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 What's the next space craft? The United States has chosen to get out of manned-spaceflight (launch vehicles) and leading the world in technology development. We will be fully reliant on the Russians to get astronauts to the ISS. It is a sad state of affairs our country has put itself in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 ? So all that "space station of the future" bit is billions pissed away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 ? So all that "space station of the future" bit is billions pissed away? Not completely. We will be flying the ISS until at least 2020, probably 2028. There is a ton of ground-breaking science going on up there right now. We (USA) will not have a means of getting people up there, or to anywhere outside of the Earth without a significant change in policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 manned-space flight is overrated (at least for the next 50 or so years) unmanned probes are the way to go (and I say this as someone who LOVES the space program) jetsfan, I'm sorry about the shuttle program ending for you--that has to be difficult Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 They have a special on Friday night on the Science Channel. Looks pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 ? So all that "space station of the future" bit is billions pissed away? I think the money they are going to save going forward pays for about one week of the current wars. So we got that going for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 But do we have peace and eternal contenment? Lotta memories (mostly good a few bad) about the shuttle - remember one pit-stopping at the base I was stationed at in 85. Wasn't Challenger but not longer after, that happened. Some indirect connections work-wise too, mostly through people I knew working at NASA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 manned-space flight is overrated (at least for the next 50 or so years) unmanned probes are the way to go absolutely, 100% agree with you. until our technology advance to where we can counteract micro-gravity and find a feasible fuel solution to speed up long term flights we're not going back out there, it's just too dangerous and expensive. robotic explorers are the way to go and i predict that within the next 30 years we'll be actively mining asteroids for minerals. I personally feel that we needed to mothball the fleet and direct funding to other areas in NASA (no offense, jets). the reality is that we have been stuck in 1970 mode in regards to space flight objectives. we're not really doing too much new. Humans have been going out into orbit since the 60s, we went to the moon, yeah but humans have been putting up space stations since the 70s (Salyut 1 in '71, then Skylab, Mir and the ISS). I will say that for me, the ISS is the pentacle of the human spirit and will and it amazes me we have it orbiting overhead. Let's be honest, the only area that has really flourished in the past 40 years has been probes which now spawned robotic exploration. The soviets put one on Venus and took pictures (amazing it survived in that atmosphere), Voyagers shooting out of our solar system as we speak, the 1st rover, spirit and opportunity, the Saturn probes (with amazing findings) and we have one that will enter Pluto's orbit in a few years. Not to mention the planning for putting a robotic probe under the ice covered sea of Enceladus (i think that's the moon i'm thinking of, could be one of jupiters). We even saw the landscape of Titan when the probe went in and took pics. Man space flight has resulted in nothing new outside of the activity on the ISS. We still can't take sustain trips let alone travel back to the moon, there's no reason for us to do so. It's cheaper to put up a probe than a shuttle. But by moving space delivery methods into the private sector I think we'll progress much more rapidly then with space flight being exclusive to the government. This way the government can diversify its space funding out to different start ups instead of being forced to pump billions more to a single program like the shuttles. I think by 2015 we will have regular trips by Virgin to space for those who can afford it. We'll see a crop of new companies spring up to develop better payload ability that are contracted to both the government and private sector (we already use private sector for satellites now). While the private sector gives rise to cost effective orbital transportation (We'll have an active vacation/hotel space station by 2025 for people to book flights like what Virgin is doing but go into orbit and dock with a hotel) the government can devote more energy and focus on our robotic explorers which will save the goverment a little bit of cheese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Hubble has been pretty great for a non expert like me. I am assuming the JWST can be launched without a shuttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 Hubble has been pretty great for a non expert like me. I am assuming the JWST can be launched without a shuttle. James Webb Telescope was cut by Congress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 James Webb Telescope was cut by Congress it's not dead yet, I actually encourage people to contact their congressmembers to tell them to fund this (and similar) projects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caddyman Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I think the money they are going to save going forward pays for about one week of the current wars. So we got that going for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 is there an unclassified list of stuff that has been discovered,invented from the space program? I know for a fact that most Russians are Bills fans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 is there an unclassified list of stuff that has been discovered,invented from the space program? I know for a fact that most Russians are Bills fans Cordless Power Tools Smoke Detectors CATScan and MRI software Artificial Limbs Firefighter Breathing Systems Jaws-of-Life Airplane Collision Avoidance plus other stuff you may, or may not, find helpful. Tech Transfer Site We are still a go for launch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Cordless Power ToolsSmoke Detectors CATScan and MRI software Artificial Limbs Firefighter Breathing Systems Jaws-of-Life Airplane Collision Avoidance plus other stuff you may, or may not, find helpful. Tech Transfer Site We are still a go for launch. dangit, that wasn't easy runnin that Bills smack on the backend, could you at least acknowledge it thanks for the list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 dangit, that wasn't easy runnin that Bills smack on the backend, could you at least acknowledge it thanks for the list I have Russian friends. I hope you don't miss your kneecaps much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'canes2004 Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Hubble has been pretty great for a non expert like me. I am assuming the JWST can be launched without a shuttle. Yup and if it wasn't for the Shuttle program, the Hubble would of been lost. A major fix right of the bat and another major overhaul, both done by astronauts, have been the key to Hubble beaming all those just phenomenal images back to Earth. So far the weather is still an issue here. Overcast and some low clouds. A ton of tropical moisture is flowing into the state from the south and were expecting 2-3 inches of rain. The weekend looks iffy to. I have to work today so I'm really hoping it's a no-go until the weekend. Living 45 miles north of the Cape, I've seen every launch from the first one (we all were let out of school for the day to see the launch) to the Challenger disaster ( I was at a car stereo place getting a new system in my Audi Fox. The tech dude and I were outside the bay door watching the Shuttle go up on that freezing morning and then seeing the smoke trails go in 3-4 different directions. We looked at each other and both knew something was terribly wrong) to the awesome night time launches to this day. It's really been a part of my life living here on the coast of Central Florida. It's a sad day for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I have Russian friends. I hope you don't miss your kneecaps much. just leave 1 hand and my kick stand alone,precciate it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Total cost of space shuttle program across it's entire life of 39 years = $185 billion = Pentagon budget for 3.5 months Is anyone seriously saying the shuttle program wasn't a good value? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I'll at least correct my statement as I was referring to the telescope. The Republican led House Appropriations subcommittee proposed Wednesday to kill the James Webb Space Telescope (considered to be the crown jewel of NASA's astronomy plans for the next two decades). The committe proposed lopping 1.6 Billion off NASA's current budget. Here is a link to a New York Times article on the subject So if you can find any real math on both current wars going that shows one week of both wars cost less than 1.6 billion, I'll concede that you win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) Is anyone seriously saying the shuttle program wasn't a good value? It pains me to say this, but I am. NASA could have gotten a lot more bang for its buck by concentrating on conventional rockets, unmanned probes and the like. For example, when you take all of the costs into account, each shuttle launch has cost more than $1 billion (in today's dollars)--that's a whole lot of money that NASA could have put to use for other projects. (And note: I am NOT suggesting that the government shouldn't have given NASA the money, just that NASA could have put it to better use.) Edited July 8, 2011 by wiegie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 It pains me to say this, but I am. NASA could have gotten a lot more bang for its buck by concentrating on conventional rockets, unmanned probes and the like. For example, when you take all of the costs into account, each shuttle launch has cost more than $1 billion (in today's dollars)--that's a whole lot of money that NASA could have put to use for other projects. (And note: I am NOT suggesting that the government shouldn't have given NASA the money, just that NASA could have put it to better use.) I respectfully disagree. The Shuttle is the largest, most efficient space transportation machine ever built. The Hubble telescope and the ISS would have been impossible to launch and build in space without the Shuttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) I respectfully disagree. The Shuttle is the largest, most efficient space transportation machine ever built. The Hubble telescope and the ISS would have been impossible to launch and build in space without the Shuttle. Hubble could have been launched via conventional rocket and the ISS was basically designed to give the Shuttle something to do once it became apparent that it wasn't going to be very cost-effective to use as a basic lift vehicle. (And again, it pains me to say this stuff. I drove to Florida to watch a shuttle launch when I was 17 and have watched basically every launch with my boys since they were born.) Edited July 8, 2011 by wiegie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Launch looks good to go. Interesting sidenote for me: Shuttle Astronaut, Sandra Magnus, is from my hometown and is the niece of my 3rd grade teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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