RedScare Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Discovery is now in space, after a flawless liftoff. I was especially interested in this launch, since Mike Fossum, a member of the crew, was my commander in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M, way back in 1980. Kinda cool to be able to say I know one of those guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 so now you can honestly say he was a space cadet and keep a straight face? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 so now you can honestly say he was a space cadet and keep a straight face? I was going to type that, but I wasn't sure if anyone would know what I was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VelvetJ Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Kinda cool to be able to say I know one of those guys. That's cool. Not very many people can say that. I missed the launch unfortunately, so I will have to catch it on the news I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlySayWhat Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I was relieved that it had a safe liftoff. They annouced it over the speaker at the Astros game and aired a couple of minutes for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I think the concern is more with the return than the lift-off. They don't know yet if the shuttle was damaged during launch again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncertaintraveler Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I think it is great that the US can successfully launch an object that carries people into space and then have the same object (and the same people) return to earth. However, that being said, the entire shuttle program, as it currently exists, is an enormous waste of resources. Its entire purpose, as far as I can tell, is to re-iterate US supremacy in space and to service the space station (whose entire purpose, as far as I can tell, is to also re-iterate US surpremacy in space and to provide the shuttle program with something to do). Its a wonderful government boondoggle. Aside from those involved in the actual space program, who really cares about going to space these days? All we are doing now is just re-doing that which we have done before. And given the enormous amount of money we spend on the space program, maybe we should demand some innovative and solid tangible results from our expenditures---simply looking at a tv screen in awe of our ability to shoot off an object isn't enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Agreed that there doesn't seem to be a lot of practical value in the space shuttle program. I would much prefer that NASA drop the emphasis on manned flights and focus on unmanned space activities, such as replacing Hubble. Unfortunately, they seem to be headed in the other direction, including putting people on the moon again. I have no idea why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Unfortunately, they seem to be headed in the other direction, including putting people on the moon again. I have no idea why.The mission objectives for CEV are quite different from Apollo. We are not just putting people on the moon, we plan to create an outpost there for future explorations including going to Mars. I agree that the shuttle is a big money drainer, but there is one practical value left - to complete ISS. we made a commitment to 15 other countries, and there is plenty of hardware that needs to go up, that can only go on the shuttle. we've already cut back flights, and are pulling out early, but hopefully we'll get enough launches to make the ISS viable for ESA and JAXA to conduct their experiments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncertaintraveler Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I agree that the shuttle is a big money drainer, but there is one practical value left - to complete ISS. we made a commitment to 15 other countries, and there is plenty of hardware that needs to go up, that can only go on the shuttle. Which is exactly why I said: However, that being said, the entire shuttle program, as it currently exists, is an enormous waste of resources. Its entire purpose, as far as I can tell, is to re-iterate US supremacy in space and to service the space station (whose entire purpose, as far as I can tell, is to also re-iterate US surpremacy in space and to provide the shuttle program with something to do). Its a wonderful government boondoggle. Whoever thought of the ISS was brilliant....you get billions of new federal money to build the ISS and you get to keep an aging shuttle program in existence (along with continued billions in federal money to keep the program running). As I said before, these days, the whole space program is of extremely limited utility to the average person. I don't believe we need to keep funding the program just because we made commitments to 15 other nations...the US breaks its commitments to other nations all the time, often over matters far more important to the world at large than simply constructing a "multinational" outpost in a location an infintensimally small percentage of the world's population will ever visit, let alone be impacted by. NASA needs to get back to doing real science, breaking new boundaries, visiting new frontiers, and actually creating something useful in the process. Something like generating new, cost-effective sources of energy, creating methyl hydrates from space, or a new flavor of Tang.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 here's one thing the shuttle is good for, really cool videos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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