[BlackDove]

Discovery Set for July 13 Launch

Discovery sits at Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, awaiting the final "go" that will send it rocketing into orbit on the first Shuttle mission in more than two years.

The seven crewmembers, led by veteran Eileen Collins, will travel to the International Space Station, testing new safety procedures and delivering supplies to the orbital outpost.

Hope it takes off flawlessly, in spite of this:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/07/12/space.shuttle/index.html

[pyro-manic]

Let's hope there are no problems.

[achtung]

looks good so far, they're just a bit worried about the weather.

[achtung]

not anymore

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/science/space_shuttle

[MatthewPapa]

just scrubbed, they will try again later

[Deepblue]

Better to call off the launch rather than have the shuttle and crew go up in flames.

I still find it funny that spaceship one seems to be much safer for space travel, albiet it doesn't go as far up into space.

[pyro-manic]

Well, the shuttle was designed in the 70s, after all . There are probably much better ways to do it now. I think that re-entry is something that needs looking at - it's far and away the most dangerous part of space flight.

Spaceship One is a great piece of design, and the idea will surely be used more in coming years. However, I don't think you could launch something the size and weight of the shuttle in the same way - the carrier aircraft would have to be enormous, probably more than is currently feasible.

Space elevators are the way forward, IMO - as soon as they are in use, access to space will be far more widely available. You can simply ride it into low orbit, then use pure spacecraft to move to wherever you want to go. You get rid of any weight/size limits on the spacecraft, as they don't have to be launched from the surface, and re-entry is no longer an issue, so the only part that needs heat shielding is the escape vehicle.

[FireCrack]

But we cant build space elevators yet...


Project orion was an excelent idea that was ahead of it's time.

[Bobboau]

Originally posted by FireCrack
But we cant build space elevators yet...

Oh, yes we can.

[achtung]

It would just be excessiveley expensive

[Turnsky]

Originally posted by Bobboau


Oh, yes we can.

gonna call in bob the builder, eh?

anywho, yeah, the shuttle's initial design was a confluence between NASA and the DoD.. that's right, the department of defence, nasa actually wanted something smaller, and better designed.. but the DOD wanted payload.. guess who won?

but i think nasa are looking into shuttle design alternatives, they just need the time and funding to do it.

as far as i see it, Nasa as the primary space-launching body will become redundant eventually due to private enterprise developing their own space-based industries, like Richard Branson for example (Virgin, spaceship one)..

Also, as far as i can see it, it will be the pursuit of greed that will lead man to the stars.. it's like the gold rush of yore, some of the US wouldn't be as populated in those areas if it wasn't for greed..
Cynical, but true.

anyways, i don't blame NASA for being overly careful with this launch, they don't want a Repeat of columbia, after all.. or even a repeat of Challenger.

[icespeed]

where do you guys think the next step solid-wise will be for people? mars? or back to the moon to see if humans can stay there longer than a week or so?

[Turnsky]

Originally posted by icespeed
where do you guys think the next step solid-wise will be for people? mars? or back to the moon to see if humans can stay there longer than a week or so?

moon's a little cheaper, and closer than mars, yet again, mars is unknown territory for mankind..

i'd say the moon, 'cuz then you can use it as a resupply base to load up any mars missions with supplies that would be needed.

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]To be honest the moon is simply another dubya move to try and get his name into the history books. The Chinese have been talking about a moon mission but it's very hard to know how much thought they've put into it.

The moon has a myriad of issues for lengthy stays, not least of all being the dust.


The american space shuttle was a bad idea from the get-go, better solutions were proposed but ignored. (Arthur C. Clarke suggested a Spaceship one/White Knight system albiet nuclear powered). It's always been known that a parachute descent is much preferred to attempting to make what is effectively a huge, barely steerable glider.
[/color]

[Turnsky]

Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00]To be honest the moon is simply another dubya move to try and get his name into the history books. The Chinese have been talking about a moon mission but it's very hard to know how much thought they've put into it.

The moon has a myriad of issues for lengthy stays, not least of all being the dust.


The american space shuttle was a bad idea from the get-go, better solutions were proposed but ignored. (Arthur C. Clarke suggested a Spaceship one/White Knight system albiet nuclear powered). It's always been known that a parachute descent is much preferred to attempting to make what is effectively a huge, barely steerable glider.
[/color]

AKA "Volvo With wings" (flying brick)

[Martinus]

Originally posted by Turnsky


AKA "Volvo With wings" (flying brick)

[color=66ff00]As maneuverable as my rocketcar but without the bangin' sound system.
[/color]

[Deepblue]

Spaceship One uses a "feather" system for nearly flawless and perfectly safe re-entry. I think NASA should design their next shuttle with that system in mind.

[pyro-manic]

Originally posted by Swantz
It would just be excessiveley expensive

And Boeing would be pissed 'cos they'd lose their multi-billion dollar contracts... [/cynic]

IMO the shuttle concept should be junked entirely, and the money should be spent on an elevator. That would completely negate the need for a "heavy lift" launch vehicle, and a smaller SS1-style orbiter/carrier system can be used for other flights.

As for icespeed's question, I think it's inevitable that the next manned mission that leaves Earth orbit will be to the Moon. Establishing a Lunar base is the next big step after the ISS is completed, and it can be used as a super-quiet observatory (no interference or noise on the dark side). It would also make sense to launch any missions to Mars and the like from the Moon.

[achtung]

The ISS is sorta like Duke Nukem forever though.

[EtherShock]

We will live on the moon someday. I have forseen it. ^_^