Shuttle Atlantis - end of an era

[Bryancd]

So with one last succesful shuttle flight, the shuttle program will retire with a 2% failure rate, which I beleive is much better then what NASA originally envisioned when the program was started. Back then I think they said the failure rate would be more then 5%. So one in every 50 launces. Traveling to space is a DANGEROUS buisness. These people are all heroes.

[Rico]

Great launch! 

[billybob476]

With such a smooth launch it makes you wonder why the program needed to be retired. Kind of sad.

[Poodyglitz]

So with one last succesful shuttle flight, the shuttle program will retire with a 2% failure rate, which I beleive is much better then what NASA originally envisioned when the program was started. Back then I think they said the failure rate would be more then 5%. So one in every 50 launces. Traveling to space is a DANGEROUS buisness. These people are all heroes.

Even today, I was anxious and prayerful while it went up. It was a relief to see the shuttle separate from the booster rockets.

[Poodyglitz]

With such a smooth launch it makes you wonder why the program needed to be retired. Kind of sad.

Given our current economic situation and the fact that we've accomplished the mission of seeing the Soviet Union dissolved, it makes sense. NASA has accomplished so much, including firing the imaginations of a generation. The computers we're using to communicate are to a large degree, the result of our space program.

[Feathers]

Well, we watched the first launch live when I was at school and now I've seen the last launch live with my kids. Kind of poetic in a sad way really.

[Bryancd]

With such a smooth launch it makes you wonder why the program needed to be retired. Kind of sad.

It's not a very efficient bang for the buck system and it's fundamentally very old technology. Yes it work great but it requires a massive amount of $ and technical manpower to make these flights happen safely. Trips to the ISS now will cost $50million per seat with the Russians and the hope is the private sector within the next 5 years can develop an even more cost effective ferry system. What NASA need to focus on is bigger manned missions over the next 20 years like going to Mars. We could go there tomorrow if we had the capital and political will, we already have the technology.

[spaltor]

Something to think about during the final Space Shuttle mission:
The US Bank Bailout exceeded the LIFETIME budget of NASA.

[Bryancd]

The final bill for the Apollo program was $25.43 Billion dollars reported in 1973. Adjusted for inflation in 2005 that number would have been $170 Billion. They estimate the shuttle program cost about $200 Billion. TARP was $700 Billion but those costs are very likely going to end up being MUCH higher once they accounting, if ever, is done.

[QuadShot]

I know that there a lot of folks out there who don't believe that given the current crap-fest that is the US economy, it's very prudent to continue building space vehicles and exploring space. But why the heck not? I mean, I feel much better MY tax dollars being spent on exploring the great unknown (no, not Med's mind) than some greedy politician being paid 10 times more than I'll EVER make in a year. Or, on some of the stupid programs they pay for. I for one believe in the space program and pray it continues, and continues to be funded 100%

[QuadShot]

Something to think about during the final Space Shuttle mission:
The US Bank Bailout exceeded the LIFETIME budget of NASA.

And what benefit have we experienced because of the bailout? Hmm. My monies on NASA!! :)

[turtlesrock]

i sure wish more tax dollars were sent to space exploration. schools too.
well, at least we'll get up there somehow. once details get ironed maybe we can start getting into space on our own again. :)
the question remains, when will that be? soon i hope.

[davekill]

Something to think about during the final Space Shuttle mission:
The US Bank Bailout exceeded the LIFETIME budget of NASA.

And what benefit have we experienced because of the bailout? Hmm. My monies on NASA!! :)

Do you suppose that 3 chinese Taikonauts heading for the moon might heat up the space race again?
Yeah, me neither.
Not with the current generation of leadership on Capital Hill - they do fund NASA you know.

Maybe it's time we sit back, take it easy and let someone else to the hard work for a change.
I wonder if this is how it looked when the first dark ages descended.

According to this latest article in Forbes, China will have a base on the moon in 14 years. They're on the fast track - I bet they'll do it in 10.
(a few excerpts)
"Unless there's a financial miracle, America's once-proud space program is effectively shutting down when shuttle Atlantis returns from its 12-day mission to the International Space Station.
China, meanwhile, is cooking with rocket fuel.

On the other side of the world, China, the third country to put a human into orbit on its own rockets, will be launching Tiangong 1, the first module of its own space station, as soon as September. They'll be following up just weeks later with its first in-orbit docking attempt which, if successful, could mean China could have a fully operational space station by 2020. The station will accommodate a three-person crew, and will be roughly the size of NASA's Skylab, the first U.S. space station

Tiangong 1 is in "final check" status and will be launched on a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan, a space center in the Gobi desert in northwestern China. The launch site is near the border between China's Gansu and Inner Mongolia provinces.

China also hopes to make its first moon landing within two years and to put an astronaut on the moon as early as 2025."
http://blogs.forbes.com/raykwong/2011/07/07/u-s-boldly-goes-no-more-as-chinas-space-program-takes-off/

[davekill]

 Ok, so there's nothing wrong with China or any other country picking up the baton we dropped to stand on the shoulders of giants (benefiting from) a space program of their own.

After all the U.S. took the same initiative post WWII with Germany's ballistic missile program and were even given RADAR and advanced jet engine technology from the Brits (Thanks mates!)

Now we share the same disappointments as Russia, when Mir was terminated after 14 years due to similar circumstances.
Just hoping our comrades can continue to keep a manned space program together for the rest of the free world.   ;)

[billybob476]

I guess it's not so much a logical argument. It's more a question of national pride (says the Canadian :) ).  You go back and listen to JFK's speeches, watch old Apollo videos, shuttle test flights, etc and you get a certain feeling. There haven't been many disasters, but when there have been it has pulled people together. People gave their lives for manned spaceflight and I guess it just hurts a bit to see it come to an abrupt (but hopefully temporary) halt.