Lockheed Martin unveils Space Shuttle replacement

Vegan Bob writes "Lockheed Martin released its proposal for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) in a recent Popular Mechanics article. NASA will choose this vehicle scematic or opt for the yet-released Northrop Grumman design in 2008. The CEV will replace the Space Shuttle program, and will eventually go to the moon (between 2015 and 2020)."

Comments

Shuttle Replacement

[lateralus_1024]

I hope it's smaller and runs cooler than my Dell Desktop Replacement

Re:One or two questions related to these articles:

[flyingsquid]

Lipservice and political grandstanding? I don't think there will be political will to carry out even a "footprint and flagpoles" Mars mission in the near future.

Or the funding. We're in a deep hole with Iraq, and it's just going to get deeper. This year spending will hit 200 billion, and there's no telling where it wil stop. People who study insurgencies say it takes 5-10 years to defeat one. Even if we manage significant decreases in troop strength in the next couple of years, it will still take billions of dollars of aid to the Iraqi government to secure and rebuild that country.

Initial predictions that Iraqi oil revenues could pay for the cost of rebuilding seem to have been too optimistic. At the same time, the income of the government has been reduced by tax cuts, so we've got a massive debt to pay off. I seriously doubt the American people will be willing to pay for a Mars mission: it would demand either large tax increases or significant cuts in government programs, neither of which are popular.

Poor guy

[ggvaidya]

Relax, it's called geek burn-out, and it happens to all of us. Take a few days off to enjoy the unspoilt beauty of the Real World, nature, life and people. Make new friends, explore new places, find out new stuff.

When you're once again secure in your geekiness, come back to us, cleansed and pure.