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NASA Admin Says Shuttle and ISS are Mistakes

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the he-should-know dept.

Teancum writes "NASA Administrator Michael Griffin was recently interviewed by the USA Today Editorial Board regarding the current direction of the U.S. Space Program, and in the interview he suggested that the past three decades have been a huge mistake and a waste of resources. As a total cost for both programs that has exceeded $250 Billion, you have to wonder what other useful things could have been developed using the same resources. Griffin quoted in the interview regarding if the shuttle had been a mistake "My opinion is that it was... It was a design which was extremely aggressive and just barely possible." Regarding the ISS: "Had the decision been mine, we would not have built the space station we're building in the orbit we're building it in.""

3 of 642 comments (clear)

  1. ISS Orbit by bohemian72 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm sure I've heard that the ISS was supposed to have a more equatorial orbit, but when Russia came on board the orbit was tilted to give them easier access to it.

    --
    The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.
    1. Re:ISS Orbit by everphilski · · Score: 5, Informative

      No. It wouldn't have been. We couldn't have gotten the shuttle (or a soyuz for that matter... any manned carrier) to a lagrange point. He was saying a lower inclination orbit, probably 28.6 degrees, the inclination of JSC in Florida. It would have added several thousand pounds usable payload to each shuttle flight.

      -everphilski-

  2. Re:Waste of Resources? by darkfrog · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is complete fud. There is lots of interesting research that has/is going on in the ISS. Any attempt to say otherwise is just ignorant.

    For some quick ideas see: http://www.spaceislandgroup.com/manufacturing.html

    or for a more detailed list of publicized experiments try: http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station/list. html

    Some of interest I've found:
    http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station/CGBA- APS.html (Antibiotic Production)
    http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station/BBND. html (Radiation Damage)
    http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station/APCF. html (Protein Crystal Growth)
    http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station/Foam. html (Viscous Liquid Foam/ Metallic Glass)

    --
    --DarkFrog
    If the dead rise again, we're going to have some serious population control issues.