Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Why?

Wednesday March 9th, 2011 was a sad day. It was truly the beginning of the end of an era. Since 1981 the NASA Space Shuttles have been ferrying people, gear, science and technology into space. On Wednesday STS-133 came to a close. Discovery rolled to a stop for the final time at Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, on runway 15 just seconds after 8:58 Pacific time on Wednesday. She will never go into space again. Over the next few months she will have her vital parts removed and be secured for transport from Florida to Washington, D.C. where she will take a place of honour at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. While I can't think of a better place for the Shuttle's fleet leader to go I have to ask one question: why does she have to go there at all? I don't understand why the shuttle program is ending. It doesn't make sense to me. In conversations I've had with friends since then they mentioned a variety of reasons. Things like the fact that the shuttle isn't anything new anymore, that we haven't left earth orbit since Apollo 17 and that it's expensive.
Each one of these has it's own issue. First, who cares if the shuttle isn't "new" anymore. It's provided great value to the scientific community for the past 30 years. Commander Steve Lindsey (CDR of Discovery's final mission) said that this shuttle performed just as well or better than the day it was built (others have agreed with him). Second, not everything has to be "new." We live in an age where technology moves so fast it's impossible to keep up. The shuttle has kept up internally, but just because the vehicle hasn't changed doesn't mean it's not new. There is no reason to take away a perfectly functioning vehicle just because its not "new." Second, yes, man hasn't left Earth orbit since the end of the Apollo missions. Countless unmanned missions have however, and they have gathered more data for less money than if we had sent humans. Not to mention it is, at this point, impossible to send a human to Mars (the rover program) or Jupiter (Galileo mission) or the Sun. Manned space flight has accomplished more in the past 30 years than it did going to the moon. Some say we should go back. I don't disagree (although I could say that it's not "new" so why do it?), I just don't see why we have to cancel the Shuttle program to do it. Additionally, some say it's time for man to go to Mars. To that I say, without the shuttle that's impossible, even with the shuttle it's highly unlikely and dangerous. Mars is a long ways off for a variety of reason (if you want more explanation read this article it really helped me understand it better). Finally, the cost. Yes, the shuttle program is expensive. Guess what? Even when the Shuttle program is over, NASA will still cost the US government a lot of money. Instead of having a ready vehicle that can go to space, NASA has to design a new vehicle that can do the same or at least similar things. As of right now NASA has a couple of designs in work, but none of them are even remotely close to the versatility of the Shuttle fleet. The Shuttle launched multiple satellites into space. It also repaired several. It docked with MIR. It completely assembled the International Space Station (and docked with it). Without the shuttle, there would be no ISS. Without the shuttle Hubble wouldn't be in space, let alone work. A space program is something the United States has invested in for over half a century, it should not be stopping now. Sadly, my little post and complaints aren't going to change what has been in motion for several years. Endeavour's final launch is planned for April 19th. Atlantis will be the final shuttle mission to space and the ISS and it's planned launch date is June 28th. All the remaining launches, missions and landings will have full coverage on NASA.gov. Incidentally NASA now has an HD feed which is available both on their website and ustream (here). NASA TV will also be covering Soyuz (the Russian capsule that ferry's supplies and people to the ISS) launches and landings. As of the end of June, it will be the only reliable way to get to the ISS. So what do you think? Should the shuttle program be ending? If you think it should be ending what do you want to see in it's place? Remember, all comments are screened before posting. You can also email me directly (the link is on the right). Thanks for reading.