The Space Shuttle
Would anyone care to comment on the space shuttle? The thing is, it's a lemon. Verner Von Braun screamed when he first heard about the concept. It costs way more than a Saturn V, is far less than what I would call reliable, and all this for the illusion of re-use.
Yes, it has made contributios to research and building the space-station, fixing Hubble, etc., but if you have private individuals building space planes that work, it seems to me that NASA has lost their edge, and they should start looking for a better flagship.
It wasn't the space shuttle that put a man on the moon.
Yes, it has made contributios to research and building the space-station, fixing Hubble, etc., but if you have private individuals building space planes that work, it seems to me that NASA has lost their edge, and they should start looking for a better flagship.
It wasn't the space shuttle that put a man on the moon.
posted by J. L. Kunkle at
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
14 Comments:
Every time I think of the space shuttle, my favorite definition of a camel comes to mind: A horse designed by a committee. Not a scientific observation of course. Just a personal impression.
By
Anonymous, at Thursday, July 21, 2005 4:29:00 PM
Keeping the shuttle in service is the eqivalent of spending hundreds of thousands, if not millions per year, to keep re-pimping a 70's vintage Cadillac. Come on ! We need to use some imagination here! If Paul Allen and Burt Ruttan can send a ship into orbit twice in two weeks(while spending tens of millions) then why can't NASA design a new type of vehicle for a few billion? We need to modernize and simplify space travel. The Shuttle should be junked.
By
Anonymous, at Thursday, July 21, 2005 9:38:00 PM
Well I agree and disagree with some of the comments here, the redesign of the space shuttle should have happened years ago and when we do get a new one built, they need to start designing then next generation to keep up the with technological advances so we don’t get stuck in the bind we’re in now. The Cadillac analogy is dead on, we need to stop using 70’s technology in the 21st century.
As for what Paul Allen did, there is a monster difference all they did was put a person just beyond the edge of space for that amount of money, sort of like the X-2 back in the ‘60’s. The Space Shuttle is a ship that can moving tons of cargo into outer space, which I doubt that Paul and Burt could do for just a couple of million dollars.
On the other had, I think unmanned space flight might be a better use of money, just look a what we’ve accomplished, just a couple of examples, with flights to planets such as Jupiter and Saturn’s moons with so much knowledge gained from that
Mike
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Anonymous, at Friday, July 22, 2005 9:48:00 AM
I think robotics should play a huge role in space exploration. I think my Allen /Rutan analogy was weak. I think I should have said that I hope that NASA's next generation of vehicles are based on a model that advocates cheaper and simpler launch vehicles. The shuttle is just way too complicated. I am worried that NASA will feel the need to produce something more complicated than the Shuttle in order to prove itself. I would much rather see the use of more off the shelf and mass produced hardware. I think the Allen/Rutan design was both simple and cheap.
By
Anonymous, at Saturday, July 23, 2005 10:39:00 AM
We are long overdue for a replacement, and of a more intelligent design. That sad thing about the shuttle is that it saps so much money away from the necssary research to reduce payload-to-orbit costs.
As for Spaceship One, a great achievement, yes, but there is a universe of difference between a suborbital and an orbital spacecraft.
I fail to understand why we have not already developed a small crew-only vehicle for station transfer and evac. If NASA would just stick with one design and get it done!!
And such a vehicle, capable of orbital rendevous, could accomplish man of the shuttles missions just be being able to link up with whatever payload needed, sent up using the most efficient booster for the job.
By
Nathan, at Saturday, July 23, 2005 8:55:00 PM
Well I just watched the launch of the Space Shuttle, and to set aside our feelings of the direction of the shuttle program, it was an awesome feeling to see the liftoff and it just made me have such pride at what our country can accomplish.
Mike
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Anonymous, at Tuesday, July 26, 2005 8:46:00 AM
Well, I don't know. There's something about those ceramic tile shields and the so-so safety record of the shuttle that takes some of the edge off the awesome. Ten thousand years from now, no doubt the shuttle will seem rather primitive. I just wish it didn't seem that way now.
By
Anonymous, at Thursday, July 28, 2005 5:07:00 PM
In case it was not apparant, the 8:16 post was from a blog spammer. Like street walkers infiltrating local neighborhoods, the blog spammers infiltrate local-focus sites like this one for the purpose of soliciting tawdry business. The only way to deal with them is to keep them weeded out.
By
Anonymous, at Friday, July 29, 2005 6:11:00 PM
Good point. The shuttle has always had the look and feel - and now the track record - of something half-baked. The magnificent rocketry age of the the Jupiters and Titans somehow got side-tracked, lost momentum, and got stuck with the modern-day version of the Spruce Goose. Why does it have to take tragedy after tragedy before things get back on track? As you said very well, it's the way of the world.
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Anonymous, at Sunday, August 14, 2005 3:23:00 PM
JLKUNKLE: IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE IRRELEVANT SPAM CAN BE DELETED?
By
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Anonymous, at Monday, August 22, 2005 8:23:00 PM
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By
J. L. Kunkle, at Saturday, August 27, 2005 10:56:00 AM
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