Scuttle the Shuttle! (says this foundation)

[bigtree]

Space Frontier Foundation Says Space Shuttle is a Waste of Taxpayer Funds

http://www.space-frontier.org/PressReleases/2005/20050711scuttleshuttle.html

LOS ANGELES, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- With today's planned return to flight of NASA's Space Shuttle, the Space Frontier Foundation renewed its call for the orbiters to be retired. The Foundation, a critic of Shuttle costs for 15 years, urged NASA and Congress to announce a firm date when the last Shuttle will fly.

"If it were up to us, the Shuttle would not have flown in the first
place," remarked the Foundation's Rick Tumlinson. "Far from opening space, it weighed us down with its bloated budgets, massive support network and tragic cost in terms of human life. We should kill the program as soon possible, before more money gets wasted and anyone else gets hurt."

The Foundation understands NASA is trapped by its need to complete the International Space Station. But the citizens' group wants NASA to name a date when the last orbiter will fly so a transition can be planned, preferably based on private sector firms flying people and payloads as part of a new free-enterprise space transportation marketplace.

Explained Tumlinson, "those insisting the orbiters keep flying are burying our hopes of advancing to anything new. Pouring billions into the Space Shuttles rips off taxpayers -- and betrays NASA's hardworking employees -- by feeding a dying beast, while simultaneously starving a newborn industry and NASA's future exploration efforts."

Interesting article in the wake of todat's scuttled mission. My first thought when I heard of the delay was that a whole lot of money was just wasted, with more yet to be allocated.

[quaway]

1. stop space exploration ? these guys are idiots for saying that.

[wryter2000]

2. Welcome to DU

:hi:

"Unmanned" spacecraft make the best discoveries for much less money and with no risk to human life. We need to retire the shuttle and do more of the sort of exploration we did on July 4 with the comet.

[SaveElmer]

7. Not good for in depth exploratin...

Unmanned probes, no matter how sophisticated are simply not able to respond flexibly to changing circumstances and unanticipated discovery. Human are able to do this. As we get more in depth into our explorations humans are going to be required to respond to these circumstances.

As great as the Mars rovers are, how great would it be if thee were humans there to follow up on the discoveries made? As it is, we have to spend years planning new missions to take advantage of the knowledge gained. Unmanned probes make good first visitors, but humans ultimately need to be there to take advantage and to follow up.

[wryter2000]

8. Humans are limited by distance

Maybe we can get to Mars. Maybe. Other than that, the distances are too big.

The rovers can do much the same things as humans. Humans wouldn't have been able to blast a hole in that comet at all.

[SaveElmer]

9. Exactly...

Each has its place. Low earth orbit is not far enough however. Whee humans can go, they should, where they can't we send unmanned probes!

[jim3775]

3. What the hell do these people think...

NASA has been working on for the last 15 years? There is a shuttle replacement program in place right now. There is a whole team of people and private contractors working to find an alternative.

[Johonny]

6. It's not close to replacing the shuttle

NASA has been working on the "next" generation of shuttle for some time. But it's effort have been a lot like the ISS. Where every new administration has new goals and less desire to spend. NASA is tasked by Bush to revamp the current shuttle to be safer, build a craft to replace the shuttle and build a craft to travel to the moon. Do this all on a slightly more budget.

The biggest problem with reusable man space craft is the all the extra dead weight needed to make it reusable. NASA would be better off with a 1 up and down use device. It would also be better off simply not sending ppl up there to begin with. There simply isn't much to do in near Earth orbit but try to live until you get to come down.

[Kraklen]

4. I agree.

The Shuttle's bullshit.

[Call me Deacon Blues]

5. We took a wrong turn 50 years ago . . .

when the Russians put up Sputnik, using brute force rockets to fling payloads into space. Rather than continue to test space planes like the X-15, we rushed into our own rocket program, and these days we're still tied to that technology. There's so much corporate money tied up in it that it's been damn near impossible to change things. There have been at least two unsuccessful attempts to change the culture that I know of. Back in the 70's I dreamed of living out my old age in a space colony, but that dream won't come to fruition until long after I'm dead. For a thorough look at this, read "Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age" by Greg Klerkx -- it's a pretty thorough history of the whole situation.