So this was supposed to be the last space shuttle flght,but I've never heard anything about whats going to happen next?Anybody know anything?Is there going to be a new space shuttle?

I think NASA is turning into a Muslim outreach program actually.

There's actually been a lot of 'what's next' discribed - I beleive we're returning to 'capsules'

When I was a kid, I always thought there was more room in the shuttle then in a capsule, but the crew (for the most part) usually only chills out in the cockpit/nose section...

Now we sit on our hands and fall further behind in technology.

I guess we can watch the show as other countries zoom past us and head to mars.. Wonder if we can hitch a ride?

The communists in the White House must be turning cartwheels now that we have to hitch a ride with the Russians to get into space.

They're still working on the Orion capsule (now called the "MPCV"), but who knows if the thing will ever actually get built and flown into space.

2012 is next.

I saw the last launch yesterday. It was awesome. President W. Bush helped to set a new agenda for NASA. That agenda was to build a new manned space flight system using Aries solid rockets, and a new capsule named Orion. There was also supposed to be a heavy lift rocket since the shuttle was our heavy lift capability. This system was supposed to take us back to the moon and to Mars. It was also supposed to do so with NO budget increases to NASA. I saw a graph recently I'm the Economist that when Apollo was in development NASA got 4.4 % of the national budget to get us to the moon. Now they get .5 and were expected to get us to Mars on that. When Obama came in he looked at the program that was years behind and would be grossly over budget. His appointed commission suggested the program be put on hold. Which it was. It is in limited development now. We were already under the old plan to be 5 years with no manned launch capability. Now that time line is more like ??? I also read an interview with Obama asking why he killed it. Simply put, we don't have the money for manned lunar and martian missions right now. NASA has contracted with Space X to use their rocket to ferry supplies to the space station next year. If they can prove they are safe our manned missions could be sent up on privately owned vehicles. NASA is supposed to use this time as a research term to figure out how to cheaply and safely return to manned missions and to lunar,asteroid, or martian missions. Either way I don't like it. The Chinese are planning a moon landing in 10 years. I don't think we want them there unsupervised. Our space program is one of the things that makes the US a global leader. When Atlantis lands and becomes a museum piece we will cease to lead space. Hope that helps folks.

There is no coherent "what's next."

According to NASA Administrator Bolden,

quote When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- [President Obama] charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering.

So yeah, Muslim outreach. Yay NASA.

We've hiked up NASA's budget to not fly Shuttle and cancelled Constellation because it was too expensive (before the latest budget hikes).
Then we've recreated much of the Constellation project, but now it's supposed to fly to an asteroid or deep space instead of back to the moon.

Here's what 6 time Shuttle astronaut Story Musgrave had to say: http://www.huffingtonpost.c...s-nasa_n_893596.html
If you don't know who Story Musgrave is,

quote Musgrave is a surgeon, mathematician, chemist, biophysicist, physiologist, computer scientist, artist and author of important scientific papers in the areas of aerospace medicine, physiology and clinical surgery. His achievements include designing the spacesuit that was used by shuttle astronauts for space walks. Musgrave performed the first space shuttle space walk in 1983 on Challenger's maiden flight. Ten years later, he was the lead space walker during the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

Replacements for Shuttle have been repeatedly designed, and then scrapped back as far as Bill Clinton, if not by Bush or Reagan. (I don't think they started redesign work until the 90's, though)
This is not solely an Obama decision. It's a pattern of repeatedly short sighted decisions.

Damn Shame what happened to this Country !!!

quote Originally posted by fierobear: The communists in the White House must be turning cartwheels now that we have to hitch a ride with the Russians to get into space. They're still working on the Orion capsule (now called the "MPCV"), but who knows if the thing will ever actually get built and flown into space.

Don't you mean socialists?

Now, we once agin stare at the stars and dream, of what was, what might have been, and what might actually be ahead.

I don't think the die is cast yet. Like defense, you will always have some downtime between operations. This, is when the technology for the next generation of advancements is planned, designed, and perfected.

We'll have to wait and see--or you younger folks will anyway.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 07-09-2011).]

It was 6 years from the last Apollo flight (Apollo-Soyuz) to the first Shuttle flight; however, the Shuttle program began in 1972. I'll be surprised if NASA has a replacement by 2018-2020.
If SpaceX or another private company takes over US missions to LEO and ISS, I doubt NASA will have another vehicle before 2020. There won't be a driving need, so it will be easy to continually divert funding and slip the program schedule. The only reason we made it to the moon in one decade was the national mandate to beat the Russians to the moon. If we don't have something driving our schedule - it'll be the slow boat to China to get anything done.

NASA will get it's wake up call from China's first moon landing.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Now, we once agin stare at the stars and dream, of what was, what might have been, and what might actually be ahead. I don't think the die is cast yet. Like defense, you will always have some downtime between operations. This, is when the technology for the next generation of advancements is planned, designed, and perfected. We'll have to wait and see--or you younger folks will anyway.

I think *we* have seen the end of the program for all practical purposes. In 40 years, who knows.. but it will be a far different world by then anyway.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: NASA will get it's wake up call from China's first moon landing.

I don't want to blame NASA on this as THEY want to do cool stuff. I blame congress.

So they've built a Space Station - with no way to get there now...

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My neighbor (he's like 80yrs old) claims they've been conducting secret alien space craft missions deep into space for 3 decades (not involving NASA) and it was only a matter of time before the archaic space program was cancelled.

haha.. he's a funny old guy full of conspiracies. Sometimes he's pretty convincing.. not so much with this one though.

[This message has been edited by Steel (edited 07-09-2011).]

quote Originally posted by fierosound: So they've built a Space Station - with no way to get there now...

Well, there are six space docks on the ISS. Half of them are for Soyuz, 2 for supply ships, and 1 for Shuttle.
I think the dock rings are universal, but Shuttle can only dock at the end dock ring due to clearances and jet wash from the maneuvering thrusters.
We've actually had 6 space craft docked at the ISS at the same time.

So the station is well equipped for Russia to get there.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 07-09-2011).]

Well, we probably won't be staring at the stars thru the James Webb Space Telescope either, but budget cuts accross the board are absolutely a neccessary thing. We all gotta give up something.

http://techland.time.com/20...telescope-successor/

Let the Chinese spend money sending junk up to the space station...

quote Originally posted by jaskispyder: Let the Chinese spend money sending junk up to the space station...

The Chinese have more important things to do- like world domination.

quote Originally posted by Wichita: 2012 is next.

Dont tease me

The space shuttle was supposed to make space travel 2 things, routine,and cheap. It succeeded in only being routine. If it had met both goals we would have a replacement vehicle for our shuttle fleet. I also see our space program as the shiny button on our coat that says yes we invest in science,technology, engineering, and math. Look at what our brightest minds did! I mean look at a space shuttle. What a freaking machine! And we want to just walk away from that? Not cool in my book.

[This message has been edited by Curlrup (edited 07-09-2011).]

We killed out Super Collider project, too. Europe built LHC.
We cancel our manned space flight - Russia still flies Soyuz.

I understand the need to save money and cuts must be made, but we're also cutting our future. It wouldn't be so bad if there is real savings because the fiscal situation is dire, but when you have crap like cancelling Constellation because of cost overruns and then up the budget to cancel the project - it just makes no sense.

Government talks about revenue problems and spending. They want more revenue but never cut spending.
Then when they do cut programs, they still find a way to spend more.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: We killed out Super Collider project, too. Europe built LHC. We cancel our manned space flight - Russia still flies Soyuz. I understand the need to save money and cuts must be made, but we're also cutting our future. It wouldn't be so bad if there is real savings because the fiscal situation is dire, but when you have crap like cancelling Constellation because of cost overruns and then up the budget to cancel the project - it just makes no sense. Government talks about revenue problems and spending. They want more revenue but never cut spending. Then when they do cut programs, they still find a way to spend more.

Exactly. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. I'm all for fiscal responsibility, but this is important. The Economist had a.great article this last week and they mentioned this scenario, Chinese land in the Sea of Tranquility, they pack up our flag and place a red China flag in its place. That would probably never happen but man...that image hurts.

The biggest load of crap about cutting spending on the program, is they just redistribute the spending to other programs. As someone who places great importance upon science, research, and technology, I find the end of the shuttle program, and the fact there is no replacement, to be just plain pathetic. I'd rather spend the money on NASA than corporate golden parachutes any day.

Of any government spending, in regard to it being an investment, I think NASA is about the best thing they can spend the money on.

Titusville becomes a ghost town. Time to get some cheap housing there.

Ex-Astronaut Story Musgrave Blasts NASA, Washington, Over Space Shuttle Program Failures

http://www.huffingtonpost.c...6.html?ncid=webmail1

Houston, we have a problem ... with NASA.

As the space shuttle Atlantis orbits Earth in the final mission of NASA's 30-year reusable spacecraft legacy, at least one former astronaut -- and six-time shuttle voyager -- is lashing out at the space agency for what he deems as failures in the overall vision of the shuttle program.

"The shuttle did not turn out like we planned," Dr. Story Musgrave told The Huffington Post. "It was going to [fly] 66 times a year and it ended up with about five times a year. It was going to cost $10 million a flight, and two months ago, an independent study showed that it cost $1.2 billion a flight. It was massively fragile, difficult to operate and exceedingly dangerous."

Musgrave is a surgeon, mathematician, chemist, biophysicist, physiologist, computer scientist, artist and author of important scientific papers in the areas of aerospace medicine, physiology and clinical surgery.


His achievements include designing the spacesuit that was used by shuttle astronauts for space walks. Musgrave performed the first space shuttle space walk in 1983 on Challenger's maiden flight. Ten years later, he was the lead space walker during the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

But with NASA closing shop on the shuttle program because of the huge ongoing expense, Musgrave is critical of how the powers-that-be made decisions.

"The downside is the [international] space station needs us, needs a shuttle to service it in a way that nothing else can," he said.

"I think what the real problem is: Why are we so poor in our vision and so poor in our project management that we come to a point where it's reasonable to phase out the current program and we have no idea what the next one is? Washington has to stop doing that."

"Washington is in total failure that this has happened," he added. "It is Washington's fault and they have to look in the mirror and have to see their failure. It's NASA, Washington, Congress and the administration -- they are in failure."

As an example of what he perceives as NASA's failure "to have any vision leadership or project management," Musgrave talked about NASA's Assured Crew Return Vehicle -- or escape module -- proposal for the International Space Station.

"That's the lifeboat. In 1974, when we saw that a space station was going to happen, we had a requirement to have a lifeboat to be able to get off the station in case of a fire or some other catastrophe. That was 1974. Where is our lifeboat? We don't have one because there's no leadership in Washington, there is no vision and they're unable to manage a project like that.

"It can be a totally manually flown thing without a computer -- it's so simply done, and we toyed with it for years. If you want to have the biggest example of failure in Washington to be able to do anything, where is the assured crew return vehicle?"

And despite his criticism of the space program leadership, Musgrave feels the public wants to keep going into space.

"The public does care. They're always there for you. They love space, but you've got to give them something. If you ask the average person: What's the space station doing for you? They simply don't know."

Musgrave is now a concept engineer for a company called Applied Minds in California, a professor of design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and a landscape architect in Orlando. Space agency and Washington leadership criticisms aside, he always feels honored for his accomplishments at NASA.

"I'm massively privileged to be part of the space program, and I never forget to say that."
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Pretty much sums up my feelings on the current situation. I don't know that NASA has let us down so much as our leadership. It may be called the International Space Station but we all know who is responsible for it being there. The USA. There is absolutely no excuse for not having a replacement for the shuttle IMO.

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Ron

man i was really looking forward to that new telescope that was going to take hubbles place.. Im a hugh astronomy nut, and i really couldent wait to see what more we could find out there with this new, ultra powerful telescope..

Im pissed!

The fault has to lie with the tax payer.
They wanted budget cuts.
I guess luxuary travel should go first.

People talk about making the hard cuts.
This one is easy.

Or do we want to just pass this bill onto future generations?
We'll travel again when we can afford it.

P.S. I'm only channeling what I have heard here on other costly tax burdens.
I love space and am a very big fan.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Well, we probably won't be staring at the stars thru the James Webb Space Telescope either, but budget cuts accross the board are absolutely a neccessary thing. We all gotta give up something. http://techland.time.com/20...telescope-successor/

Is congress asleep? Do they have any idea the leaps we have made in understanding our universe through the Hubble telescope? Many astronauts have told me in my travels the way a well funded space program is to vote. I'm going to do that regardless of party lines.

[This message has been edited by Curlrup (edited 07-10-2011).]