NASA managers on Saturday picked July 1 to launch the first space shuttle in almost a year, despite recommendations against a liftoff attempt by the space agency's chief engineer and safety offices.
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4 comments:
This is one of those situations where I can see things from both sides.
Yes, you want the Shuttle as safe as can be, but at the same time by continuously delaying the launch to tweak the external tank, they're just crippling themselves from getting anything done.
Space travel is risky, and these astronauts know that they put their life on the line every time they get on the Shuttle. They know that things can go awry at any given moment.
I'd still take the spot of anyone that doesn't want to go in a heartbeat. To be able to travel to space while I'm still young and fit enough to do it would be a dream come true.
Is NASA doing anything to design the next generation spacecraft? I think instead of trying to redesign the existing Shuttle and its components, that they should concentrate on building something new.
With the upgrades in technology within just the past twenty years, the Shuttle is almost a dinosaur.
I'd still take the spot of anyone that doesn't want to go in a heartbeat. To be able to travel to space while I'm still young and fit enough to do it would be a dream come true.
I'd go in a heartbeat too.
Is NASA doing anything to design the next generation spacecraft?
Fortunately, yes. They're making serious headway with the next-generation heavy-lift launch vehicle -- good for orbital missions *and* Moon missions. (Google "Crew Exploration Vehicle" -- it's like Apollo on steroids.)
With the upgrades in technology within just the past twenty years, the Shuttle is almost a dinosaur.
"Almost"? ;-)
The Shuttle never should have happened. Neither should the ISS. We should have continued in the Apollo vein, even if we decided to put Moon missions on temporary hold. *All* bases, as you said, should have been built with the ultimate goal of serving as way-stations.
That said, I'm still hopeful we can get off this planet in a meaningful way.
In the end, we'll colonize space because we'll die if we don't.
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