Last Shuttle Lift off. - A gloriouis era is ending.

[ironsides]

The Shuttle program didn't deliver on its expectations. It was supposed to be a cost efficient means to move cargo but it wasn't cheap or very good at it. Much of the transport was stuff just to sustain the needs of the astronauts.

What imminent demand is there for manned missions? When the first Shuttle went up they debated doing it unmanned. Just about everything is controlled from the ground anyway.

The shuttle program came through with far more than was expected. It was never to be a cheap transportation into orbit. It gave us the Space Station, the Hubbell telescope and is responsible for many things that we take for granted here on Earth. The ultimate explorer will be a man, not a robot.

 

[petros]

It gave us the Space Station,

Just parts and Mir was the basis for ISiS

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Private biz does not do space exploration because it is extremely expensive, dangerous, with little reward. It is pure research and biz doesn't do that. Only govt does.

What biz does is space tourism, a happy fun time where you see the lovely blue-green planet and the blackness of space. You get to tell your friends what a blast it was floating in your hotel suite for a few days. All costing about half a million bucks. No one dies here.

What is needed is a moon base, the biggest construction project the world has ever seen. We have the tech to get there and back and it might achieve the political objective making the world work together for a greater goal-explorations and settlement of the solar system. But then I think, if this tech is old, maybe biz will pursue it, but corporations don't potentially work together like nations might.

 

[Ocean Breeze]

Private biz does not do space exploration because it is extremely expensive, dangerous, with little reward. It is pure research and biz doesn't do that. Only govt does.

What biz does is space tourism, a happy fun time where you see the lovely blue-green planet and the blackness of space. You get to tell your friends what a blast it was floating in your hotel suite for a few days. All costing about half a million bucks. No one dies here.

What is needed is a moon base, the biggest construction project the world has ever seen. We have the tech to get there and back and it might achieve the political objective making the world work together for a greater goal-explorations and settlement of the solar system. But then I think, if this tech is old, maybe biz will pursue it, but corporations don't potentially work together like nations might.

too bad that the bottom line is more important than exploring that space frontier , doing the research that has had spin offs in other areas like science, health, fabrics, gadgets...

No profit , no interest.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Yes, private business plays it too safe. Where did something as basic as cordless drills come from? The space program. That is because astronauts on spacewalks needed to work and the cord was a hinderance. Voila, a fantastic new invention.

To me, living on the Moon would create so many more inventions because a new environment would create so many new ideas for new things that currently can be fathomed in a world with gravity.To live for weeks or months on the Moon would be a massive stimulus for new tech.

http://www.level10realtyblog.com/blog/2011/03/29/inventions-that-are-rooted-in-the-space-program/

 

[Ocean Breeze]

yes, private business plays it too safe. Where did something as basic as cordless drills come from? The space program. That is because astronauts on spacewalks needed to work and the cord was a hinderance. Voila, a fantastic new invention.

To me, living on the moon would create so many more inventions because a new environment would create so many new ideas for new things that currently can be fathomed in a world with gravity.to live for weeks or months on the moon would be a massive stimulus for new tech.

[url="http://www.level10realtyblog.com/blog/2011/03/29/inventions-that-are-rooted-in-the-space-program/"]http://www.level10realtyblog.com/blog/2011/03/29/inventions-that-are-rooted-in-the-space-program/[/url]

agree!!

 

[Ocean Breeze]

Atlantis lands, NASA's shuttle program ends

Atlantis lands, NASA's shuttle program ends - CBS News



:-(

 

[DurkaDurka]

The shuttle is the wrong vehicle for where the space program is going, the shuttle is a flying bus that basically is a taxi for the ISS. Going forward, the goal is further lunar and eventually asteroid and eventual mars landings, what the shuttle cannot do. The premise is that private industry will take over the taxi routes and NASA will concentrate on the far orbit goals.

 

[Ocean Breeze]

The shuttle is the wrong vehicle for where the space program is going, the shuttle is a flying bus that basically is a taxi for the ISS. Going forward, the goal is further lunar and eventually asteroid and eventual mars landings, what the shuttle cannot do. The premise is that private industry will take over the taxi routes and NASA will concentrate on the far orbit goals.

How much -realistically) space exploration can the US afford currently and in the near future??

The premise you outline......could work. IF the money is there to fullfill it.

 

[DurkaDurka]

How much -realistically) space exploration can the US afford currently and in the near future??

The premise you outline......could work. IF the money is there to fullfill it.

I think it will take a complete international effort to get past the moon as the costs are so prohibitive, would be a great show of global unity as well. Sadly, I doubt I will ever see it happen even being at the moderately young age of 34.

 

[spaminator]

edit

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

agree!!

Great idea of course.

The ISS was not supposed to be a way station to nowhere, so "astronauts" could do experiments no cares about. It was supposed to get us to the Moon ***dammit. But the space race ended, and so did interest in space. So things got half-assed. The world really isn't interested in space, frigging foreigners don't watch or know of Star Trek, Star Wars, Alien, 2001, warp drive, phasers, etc. They're deadbeats on the topic. China has got to land a dude on the Moon soon.

Some think, like the science guy on CBC tonight, who used the general idea that because bombers from WW2 were converted into civil planes the airline industry came into being. What the govt starts, business takes over. Except extraterrestrial businesses are a tad more complicated than Earthbound ones. It costs about $20,000 bucks to put one pound of anything in space and I've heard of no viable business plans to make money off space. Space tourism was supposed to happen a decade ago.

ISS- irrelevant space station

 

[ironsides]

I think it will take a complete international effort to get past the moon as the costs are so prohibitive, would be a great show of global unity as well. Sadly, I doubt I will ever see it happen even being at the moderately young age of 34.

NASA is not broke, its budget will now be spread among companies working on our next step into space and as you said lack of new money will slow that down. Unfortunately 9,000+ people (most of them the best we have) are out of work. We need another Kennedy inspire the next phase. When you 68 you may see the next shuttle.

The end of an era and the beginning of a new one Photos | The end of an era and the beginning of a new one Pictures - Yahoo! News

The end of a era and possibly a new beginning.
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/end-of-an-era-1311204679-slideshow/

 

[DurkaDurka]

Great idea of course.

The ISS was not supposed to be a way station to nowhere, so "astronauts" could do experiments no cares about. It was supposed to get us to the Moon ***dammit. But the space race ended, and so did interest in space. So things got half-assed. The world really isn't interested in space, frigging foreigners don't watch or know of Star Trek, Star Wars, Alien, 2001, warp drive, phasers, etc. They're deadbeats on the topic. China has got to land a dude on the Moon soon.

Some think, like the science guy on CBC tonight, who used the general idea that because bombers from WW2 were converted into civil planes the airline industry came into being. What the govt starts, business takes over. Except extraterrestrial businesses are a tad more complicated than Earthbound ones. It costs about $20,000 bucks to put one pound of anything in space and I've heard of no viable business plans to make money off space. Space tourism was supposed to happen a decade ago.

ISS- irrelevant space station

I don't think the ISS was ever intended to be a staging point for travel to the moon, it's primarily a research station.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

I don't think the ISS was ever intended to be a staging point for travel to the moon, it's primarily a research station.

It was. We have had rocket tech to go to the Moon for over 50 years but the vision became bogged down. It is hard to believe perhaps that rocket tech is half a century old. Physically getting to the Moon is not the problem, there are political issues involved. And because Canada will never launch a rocket to the Moon, we miss out on them. Canada has the tech and money to go to the Moon, who calls for it?

The eleven billlion we spend on immigrants and aboriginals I would happily direct toward settling the Moon. But I'm in a minority here. Even though the economic benefits would be immense for the country. We could be building hockey rinks there in no time. The NASA budget is $17 billion right now, we $32 B in 1865.

Budget of NASA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[ironsides]

So much for Russia taking over for NASA.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A Russian space station supply ship crashed with a thunderous boom into Siberia minutes after launch Wednesday, rattling NASA and others in this new era without any shuttles to bail out the orbiting outpost.
The rocket failed barely a month after NASA's final space shuttle flight.
While the International Space Station has more than enough supplies, the accident threatens to delay the launch of the next crew, just one month away. That's because the upper stage of the unmanned Soyuz rocket that failed is similar to the ones used to launch astronauts to the station.

Russian supply ship for space station crashes - Yahoo! News

 

[eh1eh]

LOL. Just imagine.

Apollo 18 - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube

 

[spaminator]

LOL. Just imagine.

Apollo 18 - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube

i don't like low budget and camcorder type filming.

the plot sounds similar to the plot of transformers 3: dark of the moon.