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Discovery Heads Into Retirement
dweezil-n0xad writes "Technicians in bay No. 2 of Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility remove shuttle Discovery's forward reaction control system (FRCS) on March 22 as part of the ship's transition and retirement processing. The FRCS will be completely cleaned of all toxic fuel and oxidizer chemicals, which are used for the steering jet system while a shuttle is in orbit. NASA says the FRCS will then be put back into Discovery to help prepare the shuttle for future public display." These photos are pretty cool.
Only if you consider the US dismantling what little remains of its manned space program cool.
... but to me, we shouldn't take the shuttles apart until we have a viable replacement that isn't just drawings and a budget meeting. If we dismantle the shuttles, and then the Republicans cut space budget for the new vehicle, we're at the mercy of Russia, China and the EU for the foreseeable future. Bad, bad move without a functioning replacement in the hangar.
**A massive disaster occurs on earth, forcing humanity to flee.**
"Oh wait...we forgot we took apart our space only space ships."
Darwin would be proud.
Why aren't we replacing this generation of shuttles with an updated and improved "Mk.II" version? This just seems like an enormous step back to me and I can't get excited about this process at all.
Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
The shuttle was overheard to be saying, "Damn kids! Get off my launchpad you lazy bums!"
Monstar L
Discovery heads into Restaurant
But wouldn't it be cool to turn Discovery into a restaurant for a museum?!?
how long until
I know the Evergreen Aviation and Space "Museum" also wants a shuttle for display. After visiting there, about half the displays are replicas and the other half are so far behind ropes you might as well look at a post card image. I was severely disappointed by the limited access to the Spruce Goose. In fact, after charging $20 for entry they charge another $25 to enter the flight deck.
Maybe I'm reading too much into what I see - but it looks to me like most of the people in those pictures are about ready to weep.
We went down the wrong path with the shuttles. I think their main purpose was a plot to make the Soviets copy them breaking their economy. If we would have kept making Saturn V's ( 10 times the lift capacity of the shuttle ) we would be walking on Mars TODAY.
But no, 30 years of waste, tiny lift capacity, and far more expense than single use rockets.
The best use of the Shuttles in my opinion it to let people look at them in museums.
The program can't end soon enough for me.
* Carthago Delenda Est *
It would be really cool if they had it "exploded" with doors and windows so you could see the internal workings.
I read the internet for the articles.
Why even bother reinstalling it? If the only part visible from the exterior is a dark cone, just install a conical cap. Most of the hardware inside the shuttle such as computers, control panels, actuators etc is completely unnecessary for a museum piece. Just remove most of it and install dummy components.
Because it's about history and legacy, pal - not a tourist attraction. There will be a time when people will look at the shuttles trying to figure out how we did what we did - and a mockup won't tell them that.
Then why bother putting it in a museum? Throw it away and make a wooden replica to put there or stick with Enterprise. The whole point of putting stuff like this in a museum is because it's real
That probably could have been phrased better without using the word "exploded".
Guess what. SST was a contributor to the budget hole. Good riddance. Go SpaceX (no, I'm not affiliated with them).
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
That is the technical term. But I agree with jandrese - having the Reaction Control System box pulled out and hung in space above the nose cone would be way cool. Pieces parts!
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Even with the last flight, there is a standby flight waiting if there is on-ascent damage preventing re-entry. That stack will never be used because there is no backup for it will probably sit alongside the segmented Saturn V at Kennedy.
Trying to become famous by taking photos. Visit my homepage please.
Eventually, I'm sure, some enthusiast group will work on setting up simulators for the avionics, and they'll get flight software running for others to play with. Just like it happened with Apollo's software (what was left of it, that is). Hopefully NASA will preserve shuttle's mission software better than MIT did Apollo's.
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
I'm curious, why the cleansuit smocks?
I mean, it's not like it has to be sterile-clean to sit in a hangar in Poughkeepsie.
-Styopa
I'd say you're both wrong.
SST did not have a big impact on the deficit. $175 Billion over 30 years of operations. The deficit is $14.262 Trillion. So the Shuttle program in total represents about 1.2% of the current debt. So you're right of course in that it is a non-zero number.
That said, what did it get us? Why do we send people into low earth orbit? To what end? What is the purpose or goal of having people in space?
As far as I can tell there's very little purpose. We have this program, and we make up busy work that's not much benefit. I'm not opposed to a manned space program. (In fact, I love the idea) But I think if we're going to spend the money on one, that it should have clear, defined goals that can't be obtained other ways.
If we can't do that, robots are cheaper and do good science.
Robots first, humans when you have a reason to send them.
Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
Sort of seems like the doctor swabbing the convicts arm before he administers the lethal injection.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Just wasn't thinking when I posted it. (Those look like LOX suits).
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Anytime I see an antique car, airplane, shoved into a museum, it makes me want to cry. They were born to fly, not put in a museum hanging from the ceiling, but alas, it was going to happen. The shuttles were never practical, and too expensive to fly. So long to the STS...it was nice knowing you.
I'd say that 1.2% of current debt is a hell of a lot of money ;)
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
Yes the tech is old and the computer systems highly dated, but boost them up one more time and leave them up where they can do a world of good. Like a used car they can't do the cannonball run any more but they have much more use in space then they do down the gravity well in a museum. With two of them up there you have lots of possibilities (and spare parts).
Up there they can be emergency escape pods, a space bound pick-up truck, they can use the robot arm(s) to help work on the space station and they could use the pair of them for other research: a test bed for new propulsion, communications, and life support systems.
In a fantasy world they could mod one to fly to the Moon (landing on a robot built landing strip) or sit in orbit around the moon to test space elevator technology (best to test on the Moon before testing on earth). In a super fantasy world you could tow one to Mars and let any crew working in orbit have a vehicle move around and deploy/fix communication and imaging satellites; or set up in auto pilot mode to fly extra supplies to the Moon or Mars; a slow and steady was to send packaged foods and toilet paper.
http://www.hawknest.com/
Better yet, why not just make the Shuttle software open source...
It was a good ride while it lasted, sad to say, we'll probably sit by and watch while other countries carry on in space.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
I feel your pain on Concorde. But the end of shuttle is not the end of manned spaceflight. Far from it. SpaceX/Dragon is a promising approach that may finally lower the costs of American manned space access.