The Space Shuttle Returns

An anonymous reader writes "NASA's Return to Flight site details the space shuttle's to return to active use. The Flash intensive site features details on the mission, the crew, and the shuttle itself. Additionally, the site features none other than Scott Bakula as Captain Archer on the bridge of the Enterprise (USS, not STS)."

Comments

Don't like the Flash?

[Furmy]

Non-Flash Version Text Only Version

There's a precedent: recongnize THESE people?

[antispam_ben]

http://dayton.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/MEDIUM/GPN-2000-0 01363.jpg

"The Shuttle Enterprise rolls out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities with Star Trek television cast members. From left to right they are: Dr. James D. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, DeForest Kelley (Dr. "Bones" McCoy), George Takei (Mr. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Leonard Nimoy (the indefatigable Mr. Spock), Gene Rodenberry (The Great Bird of the Galaxy), and Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Checkov)"

taken from http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001363. html

This is the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which is not usually counted among the shuttles. It's not spaceworthy, and was made to test Shuttle landings from the air (among other non-space tests), and was releasted from atop a (large) airplane for its flights, as shown here:
url:http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/dsh/art ifacts/ HS-Enterprise.htm

There's tons more on the (Space Shuttle) Enterprise, it's supposedly in the Smithsonian and you can see it in person - just google.

But looking back historically, that photo has a lot more class (even without Shatner - was he making another record? Okay, ESPECIALLY without Shatner!) than this thing with the series Enterprise (I haven't even seen it - the video doesn't play for me on Firefox 1.0.3 - NASA's not down with Firefox?) and the heroic but failed attempt at saving it.

Re:Danger

[TheKidWho]

Here is some better info, these are all the Shuttle Launches in the past and the future planned launches.

http://www.thespaceplace.com/shuttle/past.html

And the guy above is a troll with no experience in rocket science. AFAIK If there is an explosion or a leak in a tank, the Hydrogen dissapates into the atmosphere so quickly that all the energy can not be put into an explosion. So him trying to compare the energy by MJ of the shuttle to a nuke is flawed because the mechanics are vastly different.

Re:Exactly how many tax dollars did I pay for this

[fucksl4shd0t]

Better check your facts. Soyuz isn't the wonderfully safe rollercoaster ride. In fact, it was Soyuz that had three astronauts come in from MIR with a typically perfect landing only to find all three of them dead from asphyxiation more or less immediately upon separation from MIR.

Soyuz only seems safer, when in reality, the two are about even. It is true that when you factor in total deaths on Spache Shuttles you come up with a larger number. Soyuz crew: 3, Space Shuttle crew: 7. Crash for crash, bodies pile up faster from space shuttle crashes, and that's when they have the same failure rate.

Failure rate and fatality rate are different ratios, and "safer" is so damn subjective....