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Originally Posted by sanddrag
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Originally Posted by cdr1122334455
the Space Shuttles are retired in 2010.
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2010!?! That is only 5 (or less) years away! Will we have a capable replacement by then or are we taking a few years off from the space program? Also, what do they plan to do with the shuttles? |
yes.. thats very sad. when i realized that was 5 years away i freaked out... im very attached to the orbiters. i've grown up with them.. and i guess i thought they'd last forever. but that is not the case! NASA is creating new launch vehicles that will be safer and more efficient than the Space Shuttle today. there WILL be a replacement, and the 2010 retirement date is still a little fuzzy. it has been said that NASA will wait until we for sure have a replacement vehicle before the Orbiters are truly retired. i wish i could tell you all more... but you'll just have to be patient and see how the next few years play out. we are NOT taking a few years off of the space program... we just got a new Exploration Mission: to the Moon, Mars, & beyond. there is
plenty for NASA civil servants and contractors to do in the meantime. Remember.. the Space Program is not just about launching Space Shuttles.. there are our Martian rovers Spirit and Opportunity, there are surveyors of different planets around our solar system... there is even a lot that NASA does here on Earth... like helping out with the environment. and like Daniel said... Space Shuttles
will make excellent museum specimens once they are retired.
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Originally Posted by DanielBCR
Old space shuttles make excellent museum pieces. There is one shuttle (Discovery, I believe) in the new Air and Space center just outside of Washington, DC. I'm sure many museums would build a wing around that.
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There are only five Orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet; none have been retired, and two
were lost are no longer in service. Discovery is sitting on the pad right now. Atlantis is prepped for launch and sitting on the pad as well.. it will be the rescue vehile if needed. last time i checked, Endeavor is sitting in the middle of a lot scaffolding... Challenger and Columbia are gone.. so that leaves... Enterprise? Yeah... my brother (Crazybear) works for Camp KSC (formerly known as Space Camp) and he has confirmed that Enterprise is in a
hanger in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in
Virginia. The Museum is in D.C., but its so big that some of it is actually somewhere else in Virginia... thats where Enterprise is. There were 3 "Test Articles" used before the actual Orbiter fleet was created (remember.. each Orbiter costs $1 Billion each).. they were Pathfinder, Explorer, and Enterprise. They were buit as 1:1 scale to the actual Orbiters, and were used to test certain aspects... Pathfinder tested the hardware, Explorer tested equipment, and Enterprise tested the gliding system, and is the closest replica to the actual Space Shuttle Orbiters.
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Originally Posted by M. Krass
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They got it repaired, and we should be Go for launch. it wasnt that big of the deal.. the Orbiters can handle a bit more than that. its just in the grey areas that you have to be reaaaly careful.
Personally, i'm absolutely extatic about Launch. Tomorrow i'll be working as an escort for some of the Crew's Extended Families.
i hope it launches.. but if its not ready... i dont want to push it. a whooole lot of people are gonna be dissapointed if it doesnt launch tomorrow though. KSC is expecting over25,000 visitors (rumoured around 40,000!!), and i heard that over 1 MILLION people are expected to visit Central Florida from all over the globe to visit. thats a heck of a lot of people...
i just pray that whatever happens, launch or no launch, everything goes smoothly and no one gets hurt. its all about safety now... and
the entire world is putting a lot of pressure on everyone involved in the Program... i'm looking forward to a spectacular launch tomorrow ar 3:51pm, and thunderous applause!
(sorry this post is so long... i'm a geek and extremely excited... and I'm an intern out at NASA KSC for the summer.. so i've been educated. 
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