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Space Shuttle launch: 5/15/05!
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sol System: [QB] I'm not saying that NASA should scrap the shuttle in favor of building a next-generation ship, but rather that it seems possible that the shuttle deserves to be scrapped on its own merits, regardless of what (if anything) might replace it, or when. (The Encyclopedia Astronautica is such an awesome site.) (I am not necessarily in the "manned spaceflight is a waste of resources" camp ((and when it comes to ideas that make me happy, manned spaceflight is way, way up there)), but I do think we need some serious reasons to engage in it, and I'm not sure that the space shuttle supplies any, especially under the new requirements. Though here I will betray my very limited knowledge and ask: to what extent will the need to dock with the station limit shuttle missions? I mean, obviously shuttles operate with a healthy fuel reserve already, and presumably the fuel required to get to the station won't be taken from this reserve, but rather from the amount dedicated to regular operations. Now my first guess would be that the amount of fuel required to match the station's orbit and dock with it is not insubstantial, causing all sorts of missions, such as a Hubble repair mission, to be out of the question. But it is quite possible that most shuttle missions, even most interesting shuttle missions, don't require enough fuel to be rendered unworkable by the new rules. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the shuttles are well along the path of diminishing returns, and their capabilities are only going to get more limited from now on.) [/QB][/QUOTE]
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