I hear all these yapping heads on TV and Radio talking about how Orion is the replacement of the shuttle. Well it aint! Orion is the replacement for the Apollo spacecraft, not the space shuttle.
Want proof?
The shuttle is a delta-winged reusable spacecraft capable of carrying a maximum of 65,000lbs of cargo and 7 crew. Current safety constraints limit the cargo to about 55,000 lbs. It was deigned to conduct multi-role missions in low-earth orbit, primarily the construction and re-supply of the space station.
The Orion is a non-reusable conical shaped capsule. 4 crew and 500lbs of cargo. It was designed to be the vehicle to return to the moon in concert with the Artemis lander, and to serve as a crew transfer vehicle.
There is NO replacement for the shuttle. Some in NASA questioned the logic of the retirement. How can NASA repair or replace a module of the space station if needed? You cant launch them on a Delta IV or Atlas. The modules are too big for Atlas, and Delta would crush them during launch. In any case, there is no way to grapple them after the were lofted up. The RMS on the station is not designed for that type of use. SO what does NASA do? The guys in both Bush's and Obama's administration have avoided the whole topic.
The space shuttle was designed for a 50 year service life. Discovery is at the half way mark, Atlantis is one year behind, and Endeavor is only 18! With the confirmation of Ex-Shuttle astronaut Charlie Bolden to be the new NASA administrator, he has engaged in a full assault for the cancellation of the retirement plans. And it just might happen.
Project Constellation is on schedule for the Ares-1X test light, but everything else is behind schedule. There is still no clear consensus on what form the heavy lift booster will take, either the Ares-IV or -V. And the first test flight is already scheduled for 2015. Orion is still not yet in existence as a whole, and the TLI package and lander only exist in computers and desk models.
Prior to his departure former Administrator Dr. Griffin stated in a now infamous leaked e-mail that the Bush administration had made no viable plan for U.S. crews to participate in the International Space Station beyond 2011, and that OMB and OSTP are actually seeking shutting it down, and apparently along with it the whole of NASA! Russian policies toward the US are now causing US astronauts to be bumped from Soyuz missions. With the deterioration of relations between Russia and the US it appears that, politically speaking, US astronauts will no longer be allowed to fly in Russian vehicles in the near future.
One of the biggest arguments for the STS shutdown was the designs age, not the vehicle. Meanwhile these same nimrods were saying we could use the Russian spacecraft, apparently not knowing the Soyuz design predates the shuttle by a decade!!! Where is the Logic in that?
Here is basic reasoning for all this idiocy. House members serve 2 year terms, Senators and Presidents 4 years. These people have long term goals of 2-10 years at most! Space exploration is on geologic time frame in relation to the politicians and business guys. NASA has SHORT-TERM goals that are 25 years long! Long term? Try 50-100 years. Here is an example.
In 1991 Bush Sr., asked NASA for a comprehensive plan for space exploration through 2050 that would include the Moon and Mars manned flights. He understood that space related research required long term investments of both time and money. So THREE MONTHS(!) later NASA presented the plan. The Executive Summary, that came to be called "The 90 Day Study" in the media, laid out a plan that had a much larger station that was 90% US made, Lunar and Martian exploration vehicles that would be totally built at that station and a replacement for the shuttle to begin flying in 2028, 4 years prior to the Columbia's original retirement date, and 12 years before Endeavor last flight. This plan had us back on the moon in 2005-2009 and on Mars by 2025-2030. The total projected cost for this plan was $450 billion, with disbursements over the next 50 years. This worked out to $9 billion a year average, less than 1% of the US total budget per year.
All the US Congress saw was the total price, and they didn't do the math. So after the entire legislative branch collectively had kittens, the plan was killed with extreme prejudice. There was a huge fight about the plan again in 1993 and 1995. Then Congress did the most i***tic thing they could have done. They passed the Lunar part of the plan, and gave it the full $450 Billion...
NASA brass just scratched their heads and the engineers just shook their heads...
Congress just didn't get it.
So now we are in a position that may just see the US drop out of space exploration...
Eisenhower and Kennedy are spinning in their graves. So are 17 other folks that gave their lives for the US Space program.
If we stop, those people died for nothing! If we stop, all that money spent will truly have been wasted.
Next thing we know, Congress will pass the space exploration equivalent of the Edsel!
