Endeavour space shuttle makes last touch-down

[Gerald]

Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center for the final time.

Space shuttle Endeavour has brought its 19-year operational career to a close with a textbook landing in Florida.

The vehicle swept into a night-time touch-down at the Kennedy Space Center after a successful trip to the International Space Station (ISS).

The US space agency (Nasa) is retiring its shuttle fleet and Endeavour will now be prepared for public display at a science museum in Los Angeles.

Only the Atlantis ship has yet to make a final outing.

It was moved to Kennedy's one active launch pad late on Tuesday night to get it ready for that swansong, which is expected to occur next month.

Endeavour's rear wheels touched the runway at Kennedy at 0234 local time (0634 GMT).

"Your landing ends a vibrant legacy for this amazing vehicle that will long be remembered. Welcome home, Endeavour," Mission Control radioed to the ship once it had come to a
stop.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13601008


Note: 1 June 2011 Last updated at 06:35 GMT

[Gerald]

[Gerald]

36 Viewers, and no, comment, even from an American, then I get to represent them other ... something I can do in good conscience, I think, and appreciate their successes with joy.

[Oberon]

I think everyone is still dumbfounded that NASA now has no way to get their astronauts to the ISS except to rely on the Russians. Then again, I'm from a country that has carriers but no CAP aircraft for them.

Lovely pic by the way.

[Gerald]

Thank you, time may well show the opposite, and that things are moving to the right direction, it is not good for them former Communists, has only access to the ferries at all times.

[mookiemookie]

I doubt this will be the end of space travel for the U.S. I believe there will be a next generation space shuttle at some point. It may not happen for a while, but I think the desire for that sort of scientific research and understanding is too strong to keep us grounded or reliant upon the Russians.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I doubt this will be the end of space travel for the U.S. I believe there will be a next generation space shuttle at some point. It may not happen for a while, but I think the desire for that sort of scientific research and understanding is too strong to keep us grounded or reliant upon the Russians.

Exactly, some people think that this the end of the US space program.

The STS was a compromise design and frankly was not the optimum platform. In a car analogy, we are in the Model T eara. Should we have stuck with the model T for the next 90 years? Of course not.

Well the STS was the Model T of space exploration. Time to move on to the next model. Hopefully politics won't force this new program to be as much a compromise program as the STS, but that's politics for you.

Right now, we have a way of getting to the ISS. The US does not need to build a new system to get humans to the ISS. We need to build a new system capable of more than the existing STS. And that will take time, which we have plenty of, and money which we ain't got at this time.

[Oberon]

Oh, I'm not saying that it's the end of US space travel, I'm just surprised that this wasn't thought of twenty years ago and a new design brought in to be put into service when the shuttles retired. But...like I said, we've done the same thing in our military so I really can't talk.

[razark]

Originally Posted by Vendor

36 Viewers, and no, comment, even from an American

JSC has other problems right now.

That's the local fire station at the bottom.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/28098870/detail.html

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

I think everyone is still dumbfounded that NASA now has no way to get their astronauts to the ISS except to rely on the Russians. Then again, I'm from a country that has carriers but no CAP aircraft for them.

Lovely pic by the way.

Originally Posted by Oberon

Oh, I'm not saying that it's the end of US space travel, I'm just surprised that this wasn't thought of twenty years ago and a new design brought in to be put into service when the shuttles retired. But...like I said, we've done the same thing in our military so I really can't talk.

Precisely

[razark]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Exactly, some people think that this the end of the US space program.

For a lot of people, STS is the only part of the space program they remember seeing. There's a lot more of the space program. There's a rover on Mars still running, plus countless other manned missions ongoing or being prepared. But shuttle is what people think of when they hear NASA.

Originally Posted by Platapus

We need to build a new system capable of more than the existing STS.

Just so long as it's not another flags and footprints mission, but a lasting first step this time around.

[krashkart]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Oh, I'm not saying that it's the end of US space travel, I'm just surprised that this wasn't thought of twenty years ago and a new design brought in to be put into service when the shuttles retired. But...like I said, we've done the same thing in our military so I really can't talk.

They've had many different proposals run through over the years that would have replaced the Shuttle. The problem has always been a lack of interest and a lack of funding. Without the interest you can't get the funding. Much of it is political and completely over my head.



Edit:

Originally Posted by Platapus

Right now, we have a way of getting to the ISS. The US does not need to build a new system to get humans to the ISS. We need to build a new system capable of more than the existing STS. And that will take time, which we have plenty of, and money which we ain't got at this time.

We can get there on the Soyuz until a private sector crew vehicle is approved. Supply flights to the ISS will also be privatized. I'm not very thrilled by either of the private sector prospects, but at least it's something to work with. When NASA does finally come back though I hope they have full support from the White House and Congress to build a fleet of heavy lifters. Expendables maybe? If it can be done more economically than an STS mission and put more payload into orbit per launch, I wouldn't shed a single tear over my tax dollars being spent on it.


Edit 2:

Would it hurt if NASA took a cue from RSC-Energia and started generating government revenue by providing more commercial launch services? (Imagine that; NASA as an actual industry and not some political lap dog )

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by razark

JSC has other problems right now.

That's the local fire station at the bottom.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/28098870/detail.html

I hope that the whole is dissolved in a good way,

[razark]

Originally Posted by Vendor

I hope that the whole is dissolved in a good way,

The fire was contained within a couple of hours. The wind blew the smoke away from the center of the site, where most of the buildings are located, and there's not really anything in that corner of the site except for the Houston fire station. I stopped worrying when I saw they were still running tourists through. No injuries reported, either.

I'm guessing they'll be rethinking the decision to test rockets in the middle of a drought, though.
"There will be meetings and meetings and findings and recommendations and new policies ... until the next time." --retired engineer's assessment of the situation


My point behind that post was that people only really seem to pay attention to the space program when something exciting is happening. They tune in for the launches and maybe the landings, and ignore the amazing stuff that's going on every day. Americans tend to take the program for granted. The tourists from this afternoon will go home and tell people about the fire they saw on their tour, and the rest will fade into the background.

[Gerald]

"and the rest will fade into the background". [/QUOTE] It's okay, I understand exactly what you are talking about, it becomes a wrong angle part of the story and the focus then becomes in this case.