Friday, one of the last shuttle launches left lit up its spectacle. The final launch of space shuttle Atlantis countdown has started. You will find only two more shuttle launches left. Space shuttles Discovery and Endeavor will conduct their final missions to complete the International Space Station before the aging fleet of spacecraft is retired for good. The end of space shuttle launch countdowns has surely started a battle between new generation and old school astronauts.
Obama’s NASA plan
President Obama’s NASA plan means the shuttle launch, like the one today, will soon be a thing of the past. Commercial enterprises to take over the lead from the government is the direction the program is going. The individuals who walked on the moon say there will be much doom with Obama’s NASA plan. Of course, some billionaires are looking forward to the future of space exploration. What is even more is the US government is completely broke, fighting two wars, and has to take out cash loans to deal with economic meltdowns. Earthbound initiatives are a priority right now.
Billions up in fire and smoke
Of an expensive, extremely complex program, the shuttle launch was probably the most spectacular aspect. This technology is 30 years old. Most engineers are surprised only two space shuttle met with disaster in 25 years. According to NASA, the space shuttle Endeavor, built to replace the space shuttle Challenger, which disintegrated reentering the atmosphere in 2003, cost about $ 1.7 billion. The average cost of only launching a space shuttle is about $ 450 million.
Obama and also the NASA funding
A new way of thinking about the future of manned spaceflight is what Obama’s NASA funding signals. The Obama administration cancelled George w. Bush’s Constellation program, which was aimed to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. Reuters reports that an independent review found the $ 108 billion Constellation program was underfunded quite a bit, with no hope of reaching its goal without a $ 6 billion a year increase in NASA’s $ 18 billion annual spending budget. Instead, Obama NASA funding pushes a public/private technology development initiative for an eventual international mission to Mars.
Obama’s NASA plan opposed by old schoolers
With shuttle launch countdowns slowing down, politicians from Florida, Texas and Alabama — which have jobs tied to the space program — are crying foul about the president’s plan. The New York Times reports that on Tuesday, Neil Armstrong, who was the first man on the moon, and Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon, read the president the riot act before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The 80-year-old Armstrong told the committee: “I do not believe that would be in our best interests”. Also, Mr. Cernan testified on Wednesday. He said to the senators the space program was on a “slide to mediocrity” and “third-rate stature”.
New schoolers reap Obama NASA funding
Younger space entrepreneurs are looking forward to the shuttle launch ending. Obama is pledging $ 6 billion to encourage private companies to build their own spaceships. PayPal founder Elon Musk has founded SpaceX and plans to fly astronauts to the International Space Station by the end of 2013. SpaceX plans to charge NASA about $ 20 million per astronaut–which is a huge bargain compared with more than $ 300 million a head it was going to cost NASA under the Bush plan, plus NASA will pay Russia $ 56 million for trips on Soyuz rockets in the meantime.
Friday’s shuttle launch
The shuttle launch today sends Atlantis on a 12-day mission that will deliver a Russian-built addition to the space station and will provide storage space, and a new docking port for the Russian spacecraft will continue to service the station. As reported on eWeek, three spacewalks are supposed to stage spare components outside the station, including six spare batteries, an antenna and spare parts for the robotic arm.
Sources for the article
Reuters reports
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6340LE20100405
New York Times reports
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/science/space/13nasa.html
As reported on eWeek
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/NASA-Fuels-Space-Shuttle-Atlantis-for-Last-Launch-798722/
