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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
I was reading another post that indicated that the Shuttle
program is going to be ended in 6, maybe 7 years tops, and it occurred to me to wonder, what will replace it? I've not heard of any concrete programs to replace the Shuttle, and since it would take at least ten years to get something up and running it's going to be at least 2004-2005 before that replacement actually happens, if at all. That leaves a good four to five (if not more) gap where we won't have the ability to launch anything anywhere. Does that mean that ISS will be decommissioned and deorbited at that point since there won't be any way to service it or, more importantly, reboost it? If that is the case, why bother finishing it? I had always thought of ISS as the first real step toward fulfilling humankind's destiny to be spacefarers, but now it's looking like more of a way to blow a few hundred billion dollars on nothing. JazzMan -- ************************************************** ******** Please reply to jsavage"at"airmail.net. Curse those darned bulk e-mailers! ************************************************** ******** "Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand. It is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy." - Wendell Berry ************************************************** ******** |
#2
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
JazzMan wrote in :
I was reading another post that indicated that the Shuttle program is going to be ended in 6, maybe 7 years tops, and it occurred to me to wonder, what will replace it? CEV, also called Project Constellation. I've not heard of any concrete programs to replace the Shuttle, and since it would take at least ten years to get something up and running it's going to be at least 2004-2005 before that replacement actually happens, if at all. You probably meant to write 2014, not 2004, and you're right. CEV is planned to make its first manned flights in 2014. That leaves a good four to five (if not more) gap where we won't have the ability to launch anything anywhere. Does that mean that ISS will be decommissioned and deorbited at that point since there won't be any way to service it or, more importantly, reboost it? If that is the case, why bother finishing it? No, it means that the US will be depending on its international partners (or commercial vehicles, if available) to carry crews to ISS during the gap. The US plans to stay in the ISS program until 2016. -- JRF Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail, check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and think one step ahead of IBM. |
#3
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 00:13:20 -0600, JazzMan
wrote: I was reading another post that indicated that the Shuttle program is going to be ended in 6, maybe 7 years tops, and it occurred to me to wonder, what will replace it? The "Constellation" project is likely to result in a family of spacecraft built around a common re-entry vehicle. ISS crew rotation and unmanned cargo delivery might be handled by versions of Constellation, which is also intended for lunar and other deep space missions. I've not heard of any concrete programs to replace the Shuttle, and since it would take at least ten years to get something up and running it's going to be at least 2004-2005 before that replacement actually happens, if at all. Constellation is the successor to Orbital Space Plane, and draws on a lot of development work already under way during the last two years. That leaves a good four to five (if not more) gap where we won't have the ability to launch anything anywhere. Does that mean that ISS will be decommissioned and deorbited at that point since there won't be any way to service it or, more importantly, reboost it? If that is the case, why bother finishing it? Soyuz, Progress, ATV, and HTV will all still remain in service after Shuttle retirement. It is also possible that early versions of Constellation will be available for unmanned cargo delivery to ISS after 2010. Brian |
#4
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
"Jorge R. Frank" wrote in message ... JazzMan wrote in : No, it means that the US will be depending on its international partners (or commercial vehicles, if available) to carry crews to ISS during the gap. The US plans to stay in the ISS program until 2016. Does NASA plan to replace the ISS by then? If not, why not stay with the program until a replacement is built? |
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
"Bootstrap Bill" wrote in
: "Jorge R. Frank" wrote in message ... JazzMan wrote in : No, it means that the US will be depending on its international partners (or commercial vehicles, if available) to carry crews to ISS during the gap. The US plans to stay in the ISS program until 2016. Does NASA plan to replace the ISS by then? No. If not, why not stay with the program until a replacement is built? Because the remainder of the US' involvement in the ISS program is being refocused on countermeasures for astronaut health on long-duration missions to the moon and/or Mars. This work is supposed to be complete by 2016. This allows the money otherwise spent on ISS to be redirected to the moon/Mars program after that date. Building a replacement station would defeat the purpose. -- JRF Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail, check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and think one step ahead of IBM. |
#6
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
Because the remainder of the US' involvement in the ISS program is being refocused on countermeasures for astronaut health on long-duration missions to the moon and/or Mars. This work is supposed to be complete by 2016. This allows the money otherwise spent on ISS to be redirected to the moon/Mars program after that date. Building a replacement station would defeat the purpose. How long is ISS supposed to last? Doc -- And if you wish to avoid crushing social embarrassment, it's red wine with dwarf, white with fetus. Semolina Pilchard |
#7
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
"drdoody" wrote in
gy.com: Because the remainder of the US' involvement in the ISS program is being refocused on countermeasures for astronaut health on long-duration missions to the moon and/or Mars. This work is supposed to be complete by 2016. This allows the money otherwise spent on ISS to be redirected to the moon/Mars program after that date. Building a replacement station would defeat the purpose. How long is ISS supposed to last? Its rated lifetime is 15 years. Its first element was launched in 1998. However, it will likely last longer than its rated lifetime. -- JRF Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail, check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and think one step ahead of IBM. |
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
"Jorge R. Frank" wrote
Because the remainder of the US' involvement in the ISS program is being refocused on countermeasures for astronaut health on long-duration missions to the moon and/or Mars. This may be unfairly early to ask the question, but what kinds of long-duration astronaut health programs on ISS are envisaged? |
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
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Question regarding the end of the Shuttle program
Brian Thorn wrote in message . ..
Soyuz, Progress, ATV, and HTV will all still remain in service after Shuttle retirement. It is also possible that early versions of Constellation will be available for unmanned cargo delivery to ISS after 2010. Why ESA should keep developing its ISS hardware? The final capacity of three astronauts is not going to be enough for doing meaningful research with Columbus, the european laboratory. If Columbus is not going to be used, why ESA is going to pay its share of ISS maintenance with ATV? Probably the japanese agency is thinking the same. Andrés. |
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