Final Mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program

I did. Right now, I'm watching the press conference.

It's a sad feeling, really. A bit like watching the last Concorde takeoff a couple of years ago. The end of an era and from a technology point of view, it's a huge step backwards, because right now, we don't have anything that compares to the shuttle technology.
 
SilverCircle said:
I did. Right now, I'm watching the press conference.

It's a sad feeling, really. A bit like watching the last Concorde takeoff a couple of years ago. The end of an era and from a technology point of view, it's a huge step backwards, because right now, we don't have anything that compares to the shuttle technology.
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It is a bit sad, but it's not really a huge step backward. From what I've read, NASA is going to be working on spaceships for missions to places like Mars and asteroids.
 
The space shuttle was/is still a great piece of engineering. I think I'd like to remember it for it being the Saviour of the hubble telescope rather than the incidents (Columbia/Challenger) disasters. The thing I feel (I haven't read into it too much) the replacement rockets (Aries I think I could be wrong) will be able to carry more tonnage. Whilst the space shuttle did serve a purpose I personally feel the replacements will be more than adequate.

Looking back, I think the new generation of rocket will surpass the space shuttle program as they used a rocket for the cassini mission (saturn) due to it being the largest/heaviest planetary probe to be launched which the space shuttle didn't have the room, nor power to do so rockets at this time will replace the shuttle and do a better job. And of course, it'll be cheaper which is the reason why nasa is opting for alternatives
 
jmurrayhead said:
It is a bit sad, but it's not really a huge step backward. From what I've read, NASA is going to be working on spaceships for missions to places like Mars and asteroids.
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But that's not going to happen any time soon.

I do understand why the shuttle program must come to an end. It is way too expensive and it never was able to fulfill the promises of having access to cheap and reusable space crafts. The general opinion is that "one shot" capsules are not only cheaper but might also be safer than the extremely complex shuttle system.

The facts are pretty much clear. It still makes one feel a bit sad.
 
jmurrayhead said:
Indeed, but just because it isn't right away doesn't mean it's a step backwards. Plus, NASA is still involved with the ISS, and will be catching launches on Russian rockets :)
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Technically, it's a step backwards, because the era of reusable space crafts is most likely over once and forever, just like the era of supersonic civilian aircraft transports ended when the last Concorde touched down.

The goal was to create cheap and reusable space crafts that could launch often. The reality was quite different though as we've seen two major disasters, years of interruption in the program and costs that were never expected to be so high. Some say, because of all these negative points, the shuttle program was a failure. I don't think so - it's an amazing piece of technology and I'm pretty sure, without the shuttle, a lot of things in the space surrounding us would be different or wouldn't exist at all.
 
jmurrayhead said:
Indeed, but just because it isn't right away doesn't mean it's a step backwards. Plus, NASA is still involved with the ISS, and will be catching launches on Russian rockets :)

For sure.
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Normally I'd agree. But the pursuit for advancement (for me) outweighs nostalgic values that the space shuttle is known for. Don't get me wrong, I was a fan of the shuttle program but the space shuttle (as much as we hate to admit) was riddled with issues and isn't as reliable as rockets which are proven to be safer, more reliable and definitely much cheaper.

That being said, I look forward to the day when a new generation of propulsion is invented/found which in turn will lead to other advances in ship design where we will most likely see a re-usable plane type carrier which will be safer, carry more cargo and more reliable than the shuttle program was will ever be.

Space travel i feel needs to be available to everyone, which in turns needs to be safer, cheaper which the space shuttle can't provide. Advancement, and the pursuit for innovative technology will make this happen the abandonment of the shuttle program was a sensible decision.
 
SilverCircle said:
Technically, it's a step backwards, because the era of reusable space crafts is most likely over once and forever, just like the era of supersonic civilian aircraft transports ended when the last Concorde touched down.

The goal was to create cheap and reusable space crafts that could launch often. The reality was quite different though as we've seen two major disasters, years of interruption in the program and costs that were never expected to be so high. Some say, because of all these negative points, the shuttle program was a failure. I don't think so - it's an amazing piece of technology and I'm pretty sure, without the shuttle, a lot of things in the space surrounding us would be different or wouldn't exist at all.
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I'm no rocket scientist, but I think we'll be seeing some great technological advances in the not too distant future from NASA.

Shelley said:
Normally I'd agree. But the pursuit for advancement (for me) outweighs nostalgic values that the space shuttle is known for. Don't get me wrong, I was a fan of the shuttle program but the space shuttle (as much as we hate to admit) was riddled with issues and isn't as reliable as rockets which are proven to be safer, more reliable and definitely much cheaper.
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I think we were saying the same thing :) I agree with this ^

Shelley said:
That being said, I look forward to the day when a new generation of propulsion is invented/found which in turn will lead to other advances in ship design where we will most likely see a re-usable plane type carrier which will be safer, carry more cargo and more reliable than the shuttle program was will ever be.
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Ditto.

Shelley said:
Space travel i feel needs to be available to everyone, which in turns needs to be safer, cheaper which the space shuttle can't provide. Advancement, and the pursuit for innovative technology will make this happen the abandonment of the shuttle program was a sensible decision.
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I think that's the direction we'll be heading in.
 
SilverCircle said:
Technically, it's a step backwards, because the era of reusable space crafts is most likely over once and forever, just like the era of supersonic civilian aircraft transports ended when the last Concorde touched down.

The goal was to create cheap and reusable space crafts that could launch often. The reality was quite different though as we've seen two major disasters, years of interruption in the program and costs that were never expected to be so high. Some say, because of all these negative points, the shuttle program was a failure. I don't think so - it's an amazing piece of technology and I'm pretty sure, without the shuttle, a lot of things in the space surrounding us would be different or wouldn't exist at all.
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Nope, because in 2015 (I think) commercial/cargo ships start taking people to space and back.
 
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just found it​
It's just wow pretty! :P
 
One of the most iconic images from all of the missions.

07021984_bruce_nasa_640x360.jpg


More here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14056002
 
Brogan said:
One of the most iconic images from all of the missions.

07021984_bruce_nasa_640x360.jpg


More here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14056002
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I would sever vital parts of my anatomy to be that person....I want to see the giant blueberry :-(

I agree that it is sad to hear about the shuttle program ending (my old bedroom has the entire wall as a mural of shuttle Columbia) but at the same rate NASA is all over the place with development and I am sure that they have been on the cusp of greater possibilities for a while now so it wouldn't surprise me if in a year or two's time that we hear about an unbelievable means of being thrust out of our atmosphere rather than your standard combustibles.
 
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