One of the last remaining shuttle launches flew Friday. The countdown for the final launch of space shuttle Atlantis has started. There are only two a lot more shuttle launches that have to go off. Space shuttles Discovery and Endeavor will conduct their final missions to finish the International Space Station before the fleet of spacecraft is retired for good. The end of space shuttle launch countdowns has sparked a battle between old-school astronauts and a new generation of space entrepreneurs.
Obama’s NASA plan
President Obama’s NASA plan would make shuttle launches a thing of the past. A new direction for the space program calls for commercial enterprises to take over the lead from government. Aging heroes who walked on the moon predict doom and gloom for U.S. spaceflight with Obama’s NASA plan. Adventurous billionaires are looking forward to a future for space exploration. What is even is the US government is entirely broke, fighting two wars, and has to take out cash loans to deal with economic meltdowns. Earthbound initiatives are a priority right now.
In fire and smoke are billions
The shuttle launch has always been the most spectacular part of the costly and complex program. More than 30 years is this technology. Most people are really surprised to find that only two shuttle have met with disaster in 25 years. NASA explains the space shuttle Endeavor, built to replace the space shuttle Challenger, which disintegrated reentering the atmosphere in 2003, cost about $ 1.7 billion. About $ 450 million is the cost of just the launching of a space shuttle.
Obama and the NASA funding
Obama’s NASA funding shows that there is a new way of thinking about the future of spaceflight. The Obama administration cancelled George w. Bush’s Constellation program, which aimed to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. Reuters reports that an independent review found the $ 108 billion Constellation program was severely underfunded, with no hope of reaching its goal without a $ 6 billion a year increase in NASA’s $ 18 billion annual budget. Instead, Obama is pushing for all technology development to be for an international mission to Mars.
Old schoolers don’t like Obama’s NASA plan
With shuttle launch countdowns winding down, politicians from Florida, Texas and Alabama — which have thousands of jobs tied to the space program — are crying out about the president’s plan. The New York Times reports that Neil Armstrong, 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 Tuesday. The 80-year-old Armstrong said to the committee: “I don’t believe that would be in our best interests”. Also, Mr. Cernan testified on Wednesday. He said to the senators that the space program was on a “slide to mediocrity” and “third-rate stature”.
Obama NASA funding reaped by new
Many young space cadets are excited about the end of the shuttle launch. Obama is also pledging $ 6 billion for private companies that want to build their own spaceships. PayPal founder Elon Musk 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–a 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 within the meantime.
Shuttle launch on Friday
The shuttle launch today sends Atlantis on a 12-day mission to deliver a Russian-built addition to the space station that will provide some storage space, and a new docking port for the Russian spacecraft which will continue to service the station. As reported on eWeek, 3 spacewalks are designed to stage spare components outside the station, including six spare batteries, an antenna and spare parts for the robotic arm.
Sources
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/
