space geek wrote:
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=26439

Agree with concept, but that articel is for the wrong reasons.

They should agree to extent the 2010 deadline simply because the
original 2010 deadline (after which shuttles would have to go thorugh
recertification) was based on a much sooner return to flight than what
actually happened.

So, based on the current flight rate since the CAIB report and now, they
should be able to justify a push back of a couple of years of the
shuttle retirement deadline.

And it isn't because the russians are unreliable, it is simply because
the shuttle provide unique capabilities that neither the russians can
duplicate, nor the americans once shuttle is retired.

Adding a few flights would allow sending more hardware to the station
and perhaps even convert an MPLM for permanent duty as a storage module
on station.

Once the shuttle is gone, humanity loses a very unique tool that had
made mankind's use of space far more advanced.