In article ,
Abrigon Gusiq wrote:
Any chance they will build a new shuttle?

No. Not when the whole shuttle system has only a few years of operational
life left -- a new orbiter would only just be entering service by that
time, and it would cost several billion.

Enterprise, can it be made operational versus a test bed?

Not quickly or cheaply. It would be a bit easier than starting from
scratch, but only a bit. Enterprise does not have a spaceworthy cabin,
for example, and not only would you have to build one, you'd have to split
the structure open to get it in. Same story: it would cost too much and
it wouldn't be ready in time to be very useful.
--
MOST launched 30 June; science observations running | Henry Spencer
since Oct; first surprises seen; papers pending. |