[FPSPACE] NASA's Trek through the Wilderness....

[Robert Law]

Thanks !  this was a fascinating read,   the comments towards the end  about the cheaper cost of robotic space craft and the Hubble space telescope  compared with the cost the shuttle has burned over the last 30 years   .
If it was not for the space shuttle  there would be no Hubble  as we approach the end of the shuttle  program  it's biggest achievement was the Hubble space telescope which pushed astronomy forwards by 100s of years  but with out the space shuttle to do the service missions  to fix the early optical problems  it would not have been possible   after the recent servicing mission we could get another 10 year's but as soon as one small problem crops up that's it  a decision not to put a de orbit motor on Hubble  but a docking ring developed for the constellation program would enable Orion to dock with Hubble
now this is lost eventually Hubble will de orbit  and pose a threat due to the large mirror and components  as there is now know capability.
the other very interesting point in the article is  the actual cost that the commercial company's   will charge and since they have no experience whatsoever how long it will take
most new space vehicles  take the best part of a decade to develop  I just cant see them have anything as early as 2016   they could have had Orion by 2013 but now this is being thrown away , the decision to keep Orion as a life boat dus not make any sense what so ever as there will be tow Soyuz space craft docked to the station   and American astronauts will be reduced to passengers on Russian rockets
Its almost certain that  the next American president will have to sort out this mess  regardless of party of power , by next year China will have a manned space station in orbit  and the American public will wake up to the fact that there space program is grounded.
Robert Law

--- On Tue, 6/15/10, Peter Pesavento <pjp961 at svol.net> wrote:

From: Peter Pesavento <pjp961 at svol.net>
Subject: [FPSPACE] NASA's Trek through the Wilderness....
To: fpspace at friends-partners.org
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 2:31 PM




 
 

 

 







 



Greetings Everyone. 

   

Here is a very insightful article just published in
Washington Monthly.  I suggest all read the article. 

   

“The Wealth of Constellations”  by Charles
Homans 

   

Bush, Bolden, Griffin ,
and Garver…. 

   

   

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1005.homans.html 

   

   

   



 



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