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Possible successors to the Space Shuttle

werepossum

werepossum

Elite Member
I thought this was interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14089297
After three decades, the shuttle era is all but over and the United States no longer has the means to send astronauts into space. Nasa is looking to the private sector to provide a new generation of space vehicles to take on the work of delivering crew and cargo to the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. We detail five of the possible successors to the shuttle.
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NASA is looking toward the private sector for shuttle replacements. Since I don't believe NASA retains the practical engineering expertise to design a safe and practical follow-on vehicle, I see this as mostly a good thing.

It's a sad thing that the United States is no longer capable of sending men into space. Hopefully we'll get our financial house in order and once again rejoin China, Russia et al as a space-fairing nation.
 
NASA gave up the expertise when the Apollo program shut down.

The shuttle was all contractor design & built.
All NASA did was act as a program manager
 
NASA gave up the expertise when the Apollo program shut down.
Click to expand...
Yep, my Uncle helped design critical components of the Ares I, he worked for a private defense contractor.

It makes sense to eventually turn over LEO operations completely to private contractors and let NASA focus on greater things. But, the private companies are not quite ready, unfortunately. Without a clear objective, like Constellation, the Feds do not know what to do with NASA. I foresee them being little more than a climate change research foundation and an unmanned probe mission manager for the foreseeable future.

We need Russia or China to step up to the plate and start making real plans for a moon or mars mission to bring back the space race to motivate us to achieve great things again. So many great discoveries and innovations are made along the way towards achieving ambitious goals like manned space exploration.
 
NASA needs to start with much grater plans that what has been done before. Not just the same old rocket technology and design. Something revolutionary, not a technology that has been around for 50 years. Something to completely change how people think of space travel.
 
I hope that we don't make the mistake of limiting ourselves to a single vehicle once commercial crew/transport is up and running.
 
Paul98 said:
NASA needs to start with much grater plans that what has been done before.
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🙄 For such research and development, ya must first have a method to simply return back into space........... The USA still has them, but they are relatively quite limited in comparison to what other states maintain.
 
Whiskey16 said:
🙄 For such research and development, ya must first have a method to simply return back into space........... The USA still has them, but they are relatively quite limited in comparison to what other states maintain.
Click to expand...

I thought it was obvious but you totally missed the point of what I am saying. The vehicle and propulsion system to get into space and to explore our solar system should be revolutionary.
 
The trouble with leaving space exploration to the private sector is that they will do nothing without financial incentive, and I think we are generations away from there being net financial gain from space travel. I can see private sector companies designing vehicles for NASA, but I don't see much immediate future for space exploration solely on initiative from the private sector.
 
woolfe9999 said:
The trouble with leaving space exploration to the private sector is that they will do nothing without financial incentive, and I think we are generations away from there being net financial gain from space travel. I can see private sector companies designing vehicles for NASA, but I don't see much immediate future for space exploration solely on initiative from the private sector.
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True. As Schadenfroh indicated, the private sector has long been the actual engineering muscle behind our space effort, and for the foreseeable future the very broke federal government remains the private sector's main profit motive. Space tourism among the very wealthy is about the only exception.

We're going to have a whole 'nother set of problems once this changes and either low G manufacturing or mining becomes economically feasible. Imagine the crap jettisoned into orbit from either, not to mention the threat of something man-made and/or man-disturbed crashing down on us.
 
Well maybe if the new model was designed by Toyota or someone in Japan or germany, we will get that high tech space aged flying machine. If the US designs this, we will get a Ford, that looks like a Ford, runs like a Ford, breaks down like a Ford, i.e. another box with wheels and wings. Another Fix Or Repair Daily gadget (if you know what I mean). Something that has a tendency to explode.
 
sportage said:
Well maybe if the new model was designed by Toyota or someone in Japan or germany, we will get that high tech space aged flying machine. If the US designs this, we will get a Ford, that looks like a Ford, runs like a Ford, breaks down like a Ford, i.e. another box with wheels and wings. Another Fix Or Repair Daily gadget (if you know what I mean). Something that has a tendency to explode.
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I find your comment to be extremely ignorant.
 
We are going to consult everything out to the Chinese. We are going to be a country full of idiots who can't do anything.
 
I'm extremely disappointed in how NASA has been left to whither and basically drift aimlessly.

Somehow we can afford all kinds of money for various research into cocaine and monkeys and lizards running treadmills (or some such crap), but somehow not something high tech that has high potential to provide broad and numerous benefits. When I think of all the things that are said to have resulted from our space program it's truly sad we've abandoned it.

Fern
 
Aren't some of you guys big supporters of small government? Why should the government be involve in space travel\exploration?
 
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Siddhartha said:
Aren't some you guys big supporters of small government? Why should the government be involve in space travel\exploration?
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Righties have no problem with holding contradictory beliefs, like laying off govt workers & contractors to reduce unemployment...

But they get stupid indignant should anybody point that out...
 
Jhhnn said:
Righties have no problem with holding contradictory beliefs, like laying off govt workers & contractors to reduce unemployment...

But they get stupid indignant should anybody point that out...
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So why doesn't Obama just create like 40 million government jobs and solve the unemployment problem?
 
the ESA has a simple solution, we bought the Soyuz and build a new launch platform for it. Proven Russian technology!!! No need to spend billions on a new design

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMYBDZ57NG_index_0.html

download.php
 
Originally Posted by Fear No Evil
"So why doesn't Obama just create like 40 million government jobs and solve the unemployment problem?"

Or have Acorn ' create ' jobs , just like votes !
 
EagleKeeper said:
NASA gave up the expertise when the Apollo program shut down.

The shuttle was all contractor design & built.
All NASA did was act as a program manager
Click to expand...

All of the major components for Apollo were built by contractors. The command module was built by North American, Grumman built the LM, the Saturn V's three stages were built by three separate contractors (can't remember which), the actual engines were made by Rocketdyne. The Apollo Guidance Computer was designed at MIT, not NASA. Contractors have always built most of NASA's hardware.
 
EagleKeeper said:
The shuttle was all contractor design & built.
All NASA did was act as a program manager
Click to expand...

Very true, but what I worry about is that without a large program to absorb most of the engineers and technicians that the US is losing too much expertise.

I have dozens of friends at the space center. One of them is going to work for SpaceX. Two or three are going to DC. The rest are leaving the space industry alltogether.
 
Siddhartha said:
Aren't some of you guys big supporters of small government? Why should the government be involve in space travel\exploration?
Click to expand...
I'm a supporter of smaller government, but the space program is one thing of which I do approve. We received an enormous technical boost from the space program - compared to, say, drug rehabilitation or studies on Chinese hookers' drug use or treadmills for shrimp . . .

Some people are capable of picking and choosing what they think government should do versus what government should not do. Some aren't. Among the former, it's possible to honestly disagree on which functions government should be concerned without tritely insisting that we must all support all of them or none of them. Among the latter - hope and change and gimme his money.
 
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