Current status of shuttle programme ?

Let's face it, the Shuttle is the most expensive and most dangerous
spacecraft we have ever flown and it never leaves orbit.
It is not what the engineers wanted when it was being designed, but
it's all they cold get. I would still however stop short of saying
the Shuttle is a failure, it has fulfilled its role as best it can and
that is to build a space station (ISS).

So I say we use it, if at all possible, to finish what we've started
with the ISS. After both Challenger and Columbia the Shuttle has
become safer in being able to make more flights without a failure,
which did kill people .... and yea, it was the Shuttle design that
killed them .... We knew the Shuttle wasn't safe when we were
designing it, let's just hope it's safe enough for another 19
flights, it should be.

After that, let's learn from what we've done so far in space and
let's learn from the vehicles we've flown to make a better and
safer spacecraft, I hope the CEV is it.

Then let's use it to go to the Moon and Mars, until we can find
something better.



And Bob is spelled with the "B"'s at the ends ... let's try to
remember that, it's my name too.