NASA Sets Dates For Space Shuttle Finale
coondoggie writes "After some debate, NASA today said it has set the final two launch dates for its venerable space shuttles: Nov. 1 for space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission, and Feb. 26, 2011, for the liftoff of shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission. NASA said the dates needed to be adjusted because critical payload hardware for STS-133 will not be ready in time to support the planned Sept. 16 launch."
This certainly looks like it's a big experiment
Let's hope the last minute changes only make it better.
how long until
Also there is 1 more at the end of that? the back up shuttle will go up at the end with a light crew?.
It will be sad to see the fleet retired...nothing quite like watching the shuttle take off. It's quite possibly the loudest thing you will ever hear on Earth.
Living With a Nerd
The backup shuttle is for emergencies only. It has to be ready to go, but (if all goes well) shouldn't actually launch.
I'm sad to see this in my time. I always hoped we would be pushing farther out into space, not ending our involvement in it in my life time. I really hope this isn't the end of the USA as a space faring country.