Two Shuttles Together For The Last Time...

[APG85]

Some interesting shots before the Atlantis launch. Won't be seen again as they will begin dismantling PadB...

http://www.launchphotography.com/STS-12 ... ttles.html

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Maybe someday they will have two Saturn fives in the same positions...

[DoraNineFan]

That picture reminds me of the Bond movie "Moonraker."

[Matt Gunsch]

Maybe someday they will have two Saturn fives in the same positions...

Well, considering we are taking a gaint leap backwards with the orion, it just might happen. We now have a capsule that looks like a bad mating session between a apollo and a soyus.

[BHawthorne]

Maybe someday they will have two Saturn fives in the same positions...

Well, considering we are taking a gaint leap backwards with the orion, it just might happen. We now have a capsule that looks like a bad mating session between a apollo and a soyus.

We don't even have that. The new program is still very much developmental. My bet is NASA will take some serious budget cuts and can't afford to do anything manned for awhile without the help of Russia. The current administration's "recovery plan" doesn't have budget to deal with a new scaled down manned program and the one they're developing is in jeopardy.

Right now, NASA's manned space program looks like it'll be Soyuz capsules to ISS for the next 5 years via agreements.

[cott]

I really think it is a grave mistake to retire the shuttle program. The current oribiters? OK. But, giving up that kind of heavy-lift capability, and the on-orbit construction and repair abilities that the shuttle vehicle has to offer is, in my humble opinion, absolutely stupid.

Why don't we work on building a second-generation shuttle orbiter? The aerodynamics are still the same, but I bet we can do a lot better in terms of materials and avionics capability. That way we can still have the same platform, but with upgraded capabilities. Sort of a "super Shuttle," like we did with the Super Hornet.

Now the Europeans and Russians are proposing an orbital shipyard for construction of interplanetary spacecraft. Good for them! Why aren't we headed that direction?

Thanks for letting me rant...
Chris

[AndyG]

The shuttle is just a rocket at the end of the day. It's 1900's tech. Old old old....

Have my US friends not considered that our old adversary gravity may have been conquered by the backroom boys and girls since then?

The US will never never never leave it self without manned vehicle access to space. At all costs. If you are publicly ditching rockets at long long last. Then what are you accessing the heavens with?

You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore.

Discuss.......

[Matt Gunsch]

The shuttle is just a rocket at the end of the day. It's 1900's tech. Old old old....

Have my US friends not considered that our old adversary gravity may have been conquered by the backroom boys and girls since then?

The US will never never never leave it self without manned vehicle access to space. At all costs. If you are publicly ditching rockets at long long last. Then what are you accessing the heavens with?

You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore.

Discuss.......

Andy,
for future reference, keep your face away from the fuel tank opening when pumping 100LL, the fumes are getting to you...........

[AndyG]

The shuttle is just a rocket at the end of the day. It's 1900's tech. Old old old....

Have my US friends not considered that our old adversary gravity may have been conquered by the backroom boys and girls since then?

The US will never never never leave it self without manned vehicle access to space. At all costs. If you are publicly ditching rockets at long long last. Then what are you accessing the heavens with?

You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore.

Discuss.......

Andy,
for future reference, keep your face away from the fuel tank opening when pumping 100LL, the fumes are getting to you...........

That is your conditioned reponse as expected.

I'll try again: "You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore."

[cott]

Actually, the shuttle doesn't burn hydrocarbons at all. It burns hydrogen and oxygen (no carbon used) in the main engines, and ammonium perchlorate with aluminum powder in the SRBs. So, to the best of my knowledge (and at least throughout the shuttle program) we haven't used hydrocarbons as rocket fuel.

[APG85]

Well, whatever everyone's views are on spaceflight soak it up while you can. There are only 7 Shuttle flights remaining. This is the end of an era. If you have the opportunity to see a launch or landing, you might want to do it before the show is over...

[Matt Gunsch]

The shuttle is just a rocket at the end of the day. It's 1900's tech. Old old old....

Have my US friends not considered that our old adversary gravity may have been conquered by the backroom boys and girls since then?

The US will never never never leave it self without manned vehicle access to space. At all costs. If you are publicly ditching rockets at long long last. Then what are you accessing the heavens with?

You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore.

Discuss.......

Andy,
for future reference, keep your face away from the fuel tank opening when pumping 100LL, the fumes are getting to you...........

That is your conditioned reponse as expected.

I'll try again: "You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore."

Andy, it is interesting you can say that was a conditioned reply from me, when I have never talked to you before, and, you have been been a member on here since May 2004 and have ONLY 66 posts, Before you start to try to insult someone, you ought to know them and thier background.

Where is your proof that another means to orbit exsists ? and don't say I read about it on the internet.........

[AndyG]

Actually, the shuttle doesn't burn hydrocarbons at all. It burns hydrogen and oxygen (no carbon used) in the main engines, and ammonium perchlorate with aluminum powder in the SRBs. So, to the best of my knowledge (and at least throughout the shuttle program) we haven't used hydrocarbons as rocket fuel.

The quantity of hydrocarbons used to obtain the propellants is though quite eye watering!

[AndyG]

The shuttle is just a rocket at the end of the day. It's 1900's tech. Old old old....

Have my US friends not considered that our old adversary gravity may have been conquered by the backroom boys and girls since then?

The US will never never never leave it self without manned vehicle access to space. At all costs. If you are publicly ditching rockets at long long last. Then what are you accessing the heavens with?

You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore.

Discuss.......

Andy,
for future reference, keep your face away from the fuel tank opening when pumping 100LL, the fumes are getting to you...........

That is your conditioned reponse as expected.

I'll try again: "You don't need to burn hydrocarbons to access orbit and beyond anymore."

Andy, it is interesting you can say that was a conditioned reply from me, when I have never talked to you before, and, you have been been a member on here since May 2004 and have ONLY 66 posts, Before you start to try to insult someone, you ought to know them and thier background.

Where is your proof that another means to orbit exsists ? and don't say I read about it on the internet.........

Hi Matt, no offence or insult intended.

I was just trying to provoke some logical debate.

It would be rather strange for the worlds No 1 super power to have scrapped the shuttle system and to not the have a means for manned access to space wouldn't it?

Prove it? I can't even prove how fast some of the nuclear submarines are submerged, but I do know how fast and that they would see off comfortably a lot of modern cars, as well as outrunning torpedoes.

Last edited by AndyG on Sat May 23, 2009 11:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

[BHawthorne]

It would be rather strange for the worlds No 1 super power to have scrapped the shuttle system and to not the have a means for manned access to space wouldn't it?

It's already occurred, there will already be a lapse in manned space flight for the US. Shuttle is gone come 2010 and next generation manned program is yet to be functional for several years after without Soyuz + Russia. NASA isn't using it's own manned launch vehicles to get anyone into space for a few years after 2010. They'll have to use Soyuz to get to ISS. NASA won't have any self-launched viable alternative before 2015 at the earliest. SpaceX might have Dragon done by then, but SpaceX isn't NASA.