Another Delay For The Space Shuttle

[Mr. Anderson]

bleh - I knew they wouldn't launch in May, but I was really hoping they'd manage it.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/04/28/shuttle.delay.reut/index.html

D

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Man, that is a bummer. I just question the idea of trying to make space travel so totally safe. If NASA was in charge of the early days of exploration of earth bound flight, the Wright Brothers may still be trying to get off the ground at Kitty Hawk!

 

[mvc]

Is this America still?

When EXACTLY did your pioneering can-do spirit get eaten by bureaucrats?

The ongoing decline of NASA is a tragedy in slow-motion

The NASA of the 60's & 70's would have had no qualms about going and fixing Hubble - they need more test pilots in that organisation and fewer Bean cCounters and featherbedding Corporates.

 

[MongoTheGeek]

Maybe this is a good thing.

Burt Rutan is working on getting down from LEO. In a couple of years he'll have the problem licked. Others are working on it as well. There is a casino magnate who is doing an Xprize sort of thing to get to LEO and back with 8 passengers.

In a decade we might have full blown commercial space endeavors.

 

[broken_keyboard]

I think part of NASA should be reabsorbed back in to the USAF, and the rest shut down.

In modern wars, there is an element of space, and Govt has a duty to maintain a lead there. But as for the rest of it... leave it up to guys like Bert with (like mvc said) "can-do" spirit.

 

[emw]

This sucks. By the time they actually get off the ground, it will be close to 3 years since the last flight. Wasn't the promise of the shuttle originally to provide regular access to space travel? Sure, we want launches to be safe, but when we only take off every couple of years, what do we learn?

I remember watching the first launch as a kid - getting up in the middle of the night it seemed like, even though it was just early morning - and sitting in front of the TV with the whole family. It was a monumental event.

To see it come to this is depressing. I agree with the others that space flight will only truly flourish when it becomes part of the private business sector.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Maybe this is a good thing.

Burt Rutan is working on getting down from LEO. In a couple of years he'll have the problem licked. Others are working on it as well. There is a casino magnate who is doing an Xprize sort of thing to get to LEO and back with 8 passengers.

In a decade we might have full blown commercial space endeavors.

And that be just the kick in the pants NASA needs....I can understand their need to be concerned about safety and that they absolutely can't have a problem with this launch once its under way.

One of my problems with this is that I was planning on going to the launch in May, now I have to wait a few more months. And July in Florida is not quite as nice as May.

D

 

[MacNut]

The big problem is that the technology is old and until they can come up with a new shuttle design these problems will only get worse.

 

[wdlove]

I have been hearing this on the radio today Mr. Anderson. Sad, but at least NASA is working on safety control issues. I had head about this problem amount ago, that plaguing fuel tank. Do you think that you be able to see the launch in person if the liftoff is July?

 

[Mr. Anderson]

I'm still planning on going - July is just going to be hotter....

And there's no guarantee that they'll launch when I'm down there - but I'm going to make the effort.

D

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Maybe if they did something instead of generate tons of paper the Shuttle would be fixed by now, 2 years and we are still working on it??? I agree with MVC. its a bloated beauracratic political orginazation designed to create huge qtys of paper from pork barrel projects spread out into your favorite senators states. NASA needs help big time from itself. NASA isnt capable of taking us into space for the long haul in its current bloated confused and lost form. They need a decade to slap a capsule on a rocket??? please.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I wonder if there are bigger problems with the Shuttle that are not being mentioned to the public. Or is NASA so uptight about losing astronauts?

Any human endeavor to reach new worlds, will be fraught with the possibility of dying. The astronauts we have lost, the pioneers of flight we have lost, down to the seafaring explorers that we have lost - all are heros in the truest sense of the word.

What if we get a Moon base? Do we shut it down after the first disaster? Maybe I missed it, but there did not seem to be a public outcry on the loss of the Shuttle crew. There was sadness, but more so there was I think gratitude that these brave souls died doing what they loved. They died doing something that might lead to better lives for us here on earth.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Well said Chip, On a side note the new administrator of Nasa is planning on a Hubble repair mission something the Shuttle was designed for. Being the new guy they are taking another good look at everything and it looks like a few items shown themself. Its good to have a enthusiast at the helm. Makes so much difference. A Hubble repair mission would go a long ways to bolstering the space programs image and give us years more visual spectrum viewing no scope can match anywhere. I like what im seeing from Griffin.

 

[emw]

I'm still planning on going - July is just going to be hotter....

And there's no guarantee that they'll launch when I'm down there - but I'm going to make the effort.

D

Well, looks like it might still be July, but likely later in the month:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/06/15/space.shuttle.ap/index.html

Stilson said Discovery should now be the safest shuttle to ever fly, with all the other safety modifications made in the wake of the Columbia catastrophe.

...

Discovery's 12-day mission to the international space station is considered a test flight because of all the changes.

 

[wdlove]

I pray that Stilson is correct when she said, "this will be the safest shuttle flight ever." It will also be one of the most tense launch and landing period in a shuttle flight also.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Well, looks like it might still be July, but likely later in the month:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/06/15/space.shuttle.ap/index.html

ha, I was going to post this, but didn't get around to it. I'm looking forward to getting down there and seeing it launch. July in Florida - at least we won't have to worry about frost

I'd just like to have a better idea when its going to be - cause I'm thinking that I'll drive down there and we'll miss the show because of some random delay. They do have a small launch window though, so if its ready, it will go in July....

D

 

[dejo]

ha, I was going to post this, but didn't get around to it. I'm looking forward to getting down there and seeing it launch. July in Florida - at least we won't have to worry about frost

No, but you will have to worry about thunderstorms! Any lightning within 10 miles and the launch will be scrubbed. I know this first-hand from STS-93 (July '99) which finally launched on its third attempt. What a chore that was driving down from Jacksonville each time. But I knew I had to keep trying or I'd miss it when it finally launched. (Was only in Jacksonville for a few months on a project).

 

[Mr. Anderson]

No, but you will have to worry about thunderstorms! Any lightning within 10 miles and the launch will be scrubbed. I know this first-hand from STS-93 (July '99) which finally launched on its third attempt. What a chore that was driving down from Jacksonville each time. But I knew I had to keep trying or I'd miss it when it finally launched. (Was only in Jacksonville for a few months on a project).

ah, no worries then....thunderstorms in Florida in the summer....

Yep, well, they usually happen in the afternoon, so maybe we'll get a morning launch....I'll be more concerned when we actually get down there.

D

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Guess we can add another delay, Looks like a shuttle's window plastic cover? has fallen off a window and may have damaged some rear tiles in front of the rudder section while sitting on the pad. I hope they will find a good replacement for this dangerous pork barrel machine that has cost us two crews and billions more then it should have.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I hope they will find a good replacement for this dangerous pork barrel machine that has cost us two crews and billions more then it should have.

While the loss of life, as I mentioned before, is always mourned - it is a fact of any exploration. We as a species, have an admirable record for space travel.

As to it being "pork barrel" - we could argue about research and use of manned flights.

 

[wdlove]

It sounds as though the plastic window wasn't enough to cause a delay. Just hope that it didn't cause any damage that hasn't showed up yet. Sounds as though the launch is a go for tomorrow at 3:51pm. Guess the weather would be the main reason unless anther technical problem comes along. Just want the crew to be safe.

Are you going to be there Mr. Anderson?

 

[ham_man]

Glad to see that the minor accident on the pad today was repaired successfully and that the Shuttle is set for launch tomorrow. Hopefully the crew will have safe and successful journey...

 

[Mr. Anderson]

sadly, since this is right after I got back from vacation, I can't go. I was sort of hoping they could manage a delay till the weekend, then it would be ok. So it looks like this time I'm out of luck.

I just hope everything goes well and there aren't any problems.

D

 

[leekohler]

That stinks. I know how much you wanted to go.

 

[jadam]

Yeah would have been awesome to go =( Im going to make sure I make it to the next shuttle launch though! Would be my first one too!