As most of our readers know, we're pretty critical of the Space Shuttle program for its inherent Byzantine machinery, some dating back to 1974, and the over-design that has gone into something that is insufficient to the task of repeated takeoffs and landings.
Today we find this headline that says the Shuttles may never fly again.
"Not flying the Shuttle again would be an even harder decision to make than not flying it to Hubble," said John Logsdon, Director of the Space Policy Institute in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. He was also a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).On the other hand, they are stating the CAIB did not recommend the grounding of the shuttles permanently, so clearly NASA are having to stick with their shuttle program, like it or not; and one suspects they are going to not like it a lot more as scrutiny mounts and the fleet ages.
"It is hard to think of how the International Space Station could be effectively used without the shuttle's capability to complete its assembly to a point where all partners agree it is adequate to their minimal aspirations," Logsdon said. "We may depend on other systems for operating ISS sooner than now planned, but losing the contributions that the shuttle can make would be close to tragic."
While the progress of assembling the ISS seemingly locked to the capability of the Space Shuttle, in reality NASA can go back ordering Saturn rockets to launch things into lower orbit where the ISS is stationed. The Shuttle is still over designed, and over-invested for its envisaged task, while carrying pretty colossal risks.
- Art Neuro