All ISS Experiments Cancelled by NASA

[Pangloss]

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20051031/nasacuts_spa.html

 

Apparently all science experiments scheduled for the International Space Station have been cancelled by NASA. Ostensibly this is only until "the space station is completed".

 

But NASA has already stated that the 2010 Shuttle retirement deadline, which was originally chosen because that was the prediction for how long it would take to complete ISS, will now be enforced regardless of the status of ISS. Meanwhile NASA is underfunded and USGov is backing away from new deals for Russian space launches.

 

IMO this is just more evidence that we've *already* seen the last shuttle launch we'll ever see.

[5614]

Space exploration, shuttle launches and new satellites have all been a bit pathetic recently. It's a shame really.

[flyboy]

NASA shouldnt have come up with the plan for the space station at all

it was and still is a waste of money that couldve been used to make a new space shuttle or a base on the moon or somthin like that

[Klaynos]

NASA shouldnt have come up with the plan for the space station at all

it was and still is a waste of money that couldve been used to make a new space shuttle or a base on the moon or somthin like that

 

Or something worthwhile to space science...

[X-Y]

Hello,

 

I personally don’t think that the Space Station is useless, otherwise everything else would be useless too. There is a purpose for everything, but I agree with the comments that money should be invested in a new space shuttle.

[Ophiolite]

Hello' date='

 

I personally don’t think that the Space Station is useless, otherwise everything else would be useless too. There is a purpose for everything, ......[/quote']In the case of the shuttle, however, the purpose has been

1) Obscure

2) Frequently changed

3) Poorly planned

4) Abominably executed

5) Subject to multiple intereference

6) Ill conceived

7) Lacking in vision

8) All in all, a rather poor purpose.

[X-Y]

In the case of the shuttle, however, the purpose has been

1) Obscure

2) Frequently changed

3) Poorly planned

4) Abominably executed

5) Subject to multiple intereference

6) Ill conceived

7) Lacking in vision

8) All in all, a rather poor purpose.

 

 

 

Humans hey

[Douglas]

4) Abominably executed

.

They fixed the Hubble telescope.

[Pangloss]

That would definitely be one of the great shining moments of the Shuttle program, and absolutely not something to be denigrated as a human endeavor. I for one have really enjoyed the images over the years, and the science has been unquestionably valuable.

 

But at what cost? Remember, the whole point of the shuttle was cost efficiency. The Hubble is, therefore, a perfect example of how the shuttle program went awry. The telescope itself has eaten up $10-15 billion so far (depending on who you ask), not counting the $1 billion or more spent on the launch and two servicing missions.

 

In contrast, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is far larger because it isn't limited to the size of the shuttle's payload bay, and far more capable scientifically than Hubble, will run a very realistic $3.5 billion, including launch.

 

In a way you have to wonder why we thought that it would be less expensive to have humans do routine maintenance work in space. The infrastructure and mechanical effort required to loft a human being into orbit is vastly greater than it is with just machinery alone. Safely coordinating human beings travelling 17,500 mph, with hundreds of thousands of things that can go wrong, just to pop the hood and change the oil on a satellite, makes no sense at all, and probably never did.

 

Sooner or later we'll figure out how to do all that efficiently. But my guess is it'll be private enterprise, with government support, that does the job. Not NASA.