Originally posted by Rock_It
...and your point? 
That Space is expensive? That Space flight is dangerous? Need to go do some more reading. Like about the 3 Astronauts that burned up and never left the Pad. Also the one who Died from Cancer...yeah, the suits they used didn't protect them worth a dang. It's people that are too dam- worried about what it costs to go to Space that are the reason the Shuttle is getting grounded and are setting us back another 40 years. Adjust THAT for inflation.
Point is that the shuttle program has never met any of its original goals. Thats the point. It is and will be an expensive 'X' program.
The early plan for man reaching the Moon was to create a permanent space station, then use the station as a launch platform to the Moon.
The Shuttle was an expensive way to realize imitations with a winged space vehicle. First we had one man in a can (Mercury), then two (Gemini), then three (Apollo), then the space plane (shuttle). Now we are going back to cans (Orion). Its like the shuttle program was some goose that never laid the golden egg.
Now I realize that a few billion here or there in today's budgets and tax payer contributions are drops in the bucket so to speak. I howsoever, do care about how my tax dollars are spent and the effectiveness of its use. Hundreds of other science programs have either been delayed or cancelled because of the Space Shuttle; either there was lack of budget or delays caused by Challenger and Columbia. Even the U.S. Air Force decided to stop using the Space Shuttle as a launch platform due to its costs and safety
WOW! I say, wow, because the Air Force doesnt launch manned payloads. Astronaut Mustrgrave, has gone on record stating that the design is far dangerous than anything ever flown before by NASA
There have been comet missions cancelled due to the space shuttle budget. There have been missions to the planets canceled due to the Shuttle. There have been programs in high-speed flight, fuel efficiency, navigation, and other PRACTICAL and CONSUMER beneficial programs canceled because of the Space Shuttle.
Do you work for NASA or an aerospace firm? I have. I have seen programs that had very practical and beneficial long-term results shelved because there wasn't a budget for them. Flying spiders and bees into space gets old after the 30th or 40th time
I guess this is another point.
Look I love Star Trek, and Star Wars like the next guy, but I have to be REALISTIC about space, and mankind. No one alive now, will ever see another star system unless we are contacted by a more advanced civilization from beyond our own planet. We as a species can't even get along with one another. Blacks hate whites, whites hate blacks. Muslims hate Jews, Jews hate Muslims ... we as an animal species may not even survive ourselves. We need to get our problems fixed here before we take them out to the stars and pollute space.
So I am not against space flight and learning, I just want it to be efficient and done in a way that increases our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe. Its not that I am against rockets with men and women in them, but more so against waste and inefficiency that the Space Shuttle has caused. Yes the Space Shuttle had first like recovery of a satellite from orbit, and the MMU Buck Rogers jet pack. But it has lead to program and flight delays; the current mission was delayed for 5 years due to Columbias destruction upon re-entry. 14 men and women have lost their lives due to KNOWN, known issues with the Shuttle. The SRBs were projected by the Air Force to fail every 1 in 30 flights. Columbias destruction due to FOD hitting the vehicle was not the first time; even on STS 1, the orbiter was hit by a substantial piece of foam/ice on the top of the cockpit. Not an issue nor was it followed up on, because the top of the cockpit isnt a high heat area.
The Space Shuttle, as a program OVERALL, was an expensive and wasteful chapter in the United States space program. I am not the only one saying this; as Nobel Prize winners and leading scientist the world over have stated this before I came to a similar conclusion. The Soviets dumped Buran because it was too expensive and a very inefficient way to get things into orbit (men and machines). Yes the Soviets were falling apart towards the late 80s, but look at their launch history with Soyuz and their boosters.
I feel that the Soviets are the TRUE leaders in manned space flight as they are doing it the right way. Taking the little steps that when totaled, make one VERY large step.
Personally, I would rather ride a Soyuz spacecraft into orbit, than the Space Shuttle; I have better odds with the Russian vehicle.
Its not that I am SCARED, its that I am concerned with the overall direction and path we (United States) are taking. And as I stated above, NO ONE alive on planet Earth today, will EVER see another star system. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn's moon Titan, yes MAYBE... are the goals we need to set for our species; now what do we do to achieve these small but significant steps? The Space Shuttle certainly wasnt the answer.
I just want to see realistic and constructive goals planned and achieved.
I love the roar and the super science as well!
V'Ger
P.s. The Shuttle was never planned and agreed to based on a goal to build ISS. President Nixon and Secretary of State McNamara approved the program with the goal to use it to intercept and steal Soviet satellites from Earth orbit. I wonder if that was ever achieved?
