NASA has gotten old and bloated with WAY too much red tape. Their development model is too slow and too expensive to rationalize projects. Add to that a president who places no value on manned space flight and you end up with no shuttles. NASA needs to shape up (or shake down) and America needs a different president if we want to once again make large strides in space exploration and understanding.
This is sad. The only reason NASA will rely on Russian equipment is because some bean counter did some study that showed the government of the US could save some "X" amount of money by using some Russian equipment instead of keeping the shuttle going or building an alternative. This was probably the same ******* that decided to build the housing structure around the Saturn V rocket sitting on JSC's front lawn. I think it says a lot about the condition of the US when we are more interested in the end result rather than the process only because of what the almighty dollar tells us is truth. We teach our kids the bottom line is more powerful than the thoughts, ideas and dreams that went into its discovery. The uncertainty, unknown and unfamiliarity of the universe has now capture our imginations and drowned it in fear. Our curious nature has been beaten down by the ritualistic "cost cutting" dance of an account rather than being held high by the willing exploration of the layman. But to me this is inspirational and the best time to fight back. Because I am reminded of an event in the late 1960's when the National Collegiate Athletics Association outlawed the slam-dunk in basketball because a man named Lew Alcindor used this move to perfect his domination over the competition. Despite the obvious and unfair attack at his game, Lew Alcindor did not whine or cry about transgression: he rose above it. Changed his name and changed his game, developing a patented shot that many consider the greatest and most unguardable shot of all-time: the sky hook.
"Before I became the NASA administrator, [President Obama] charged me with three things: One: He wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math. [Two:] He wanted me to expand our international relationships And third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the muslim world and engage much more with dominantly muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering." -- Charles Bolden Administrator of NASA (appointed by Barack Obama)
BTW, for those who missed it. January 14, 2004 — President Bush cancels the Space Shuttle program. http://spaceksc.blogspot.com/2010/04/when-bush-cancelled-space-shuttle.html
The model never changed. It was always bloated from day one but that was the point. R&D funding models consist of throwing a bunch of money to smart people and hoping they do something with it. The difference back then was NASA was given a blank check to do whatever it wanted. They were treated the way we treat defense spending today. The problem is that no one sees any political or strategic value in NASA anymore so they were forced to accept financial limitations that it hasn't coped with very well. Also its not just the president. Bush never really cared all that much for NASA. He just had senior republicans that did (notably Tom Delay who represented Clear Lake). The problem is that the Congressional and Senate landscape in Texas has changed. Texas used to have some representation among senior leadership (of both parties) for sometime. Now that Republicans have sniped off Dems (and sniped each other off) we have junior reps and senators that either don't care or don't have any seniority to do anything. The same thing happened in Florida as well.
Major reasons the Shuttles are retiring: 1) 40 yr old technology at the end of it's rope. Replacement components typically only existed because NASA paid huge sums to keep companies producing older technology long since abandoned. The materials involved were always at the absolute edge of their limits; this many flights is really unbecoming from an engineering standpoint. 2) The Shuttle is outrageously expensive. There is no reason to go into any detail - it's just flipping expensive. 3) The shuttle design is fundamentally flawed. Strapping the spacecraft to the side of a large tank provides for a massive debris threat. This has been a known issue since STS-1, and RTF efforts post 107 did very little to fundamentally address the issue. A winged spacecraft makes reentry exceptionally difficult with virtually no tangible benefits, and costs you a great deal of weight. Lastly, the DoD requirements levied at inception resulted in less a spacecraft and more a winged cargo van. Cramming 7 people in there every mission was rather silly. Why NASA is not ready with another craft: 1) Not enough money. NASA cannot fund a new program of shuttle size (or larger) and maintain the shuttle fleet. 2) Lost knowledge. Most of the shuttle designers have retired/died. The methodology necessary to design/test/build/launch a new rocket is not lost per say, but crippled. Much of the "lessons learned" will need to be re-learned. 3) A stifling bureaucracy. There is a reason NASA is always WAY over budget and WAY over schedule. 4) Political nonsense. Politicians often force various design decisions with little or no engineering rationale (duh). Constellation was still mandated to use External Tank tech and SRBs...guess why... As other have noted as well, presidents use NASA as a short-term podium play - these programs need to be planned for 20-30 year cycles...not gonna happen. Still - sad to see them go. I had a lot of fun when I worked on them at NASA. It's been hard on Clear Lake too. EDIT: Random shot from my collection. It's hard to fathom how FREEKIN HUGE the shuttle is:
I graduated from Clear Creek High School in League City in 1980. My senior year, we got to witness the space shuttle Enterprise riding on the back of a modified 747, which flew over my school (1979). Man, what a thrill that was! I also witnessed the 1st space shuttle (STS-1) lift-off, while stationed in Orlando, FL. In 1983, my sub was ported in Cape Canaveral for C4 missile testing, which coincided with the STS-8 mission (the Challenger).
