The final flight of the Space Shuttle

[Sgt Beavis]

The live stream of the launch is here:

http://www.livestream.com/spaceflightnow?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks

It makes me sad and angry that our Government has screwed up our space program so badly. It looks more and more like it will take private industry to fix it.

[mstng86]

It's sad to see, but this is a prime example of how bad our government runs things.

I wonder how Richard Branson is coming along in his efforts.

[Sgt Beavis]

It's sad to see, but this is a prime example of how bad our government runs things.

I wonder how Richard Branson is coming along in his efforts.

They are doing fine. SpaceShip Two is doing glide testing right now. They are running about two flights per week. The first powered flight is expected later this summer.

However, SpaceShipTwo is a suborbital ship. The real deal is going to be the Dragon capsule with the Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX. They've already flown an unmanned version of Dragon and are working on a manned version. Unfortunately they don't expect to be ready to fly people until 2015. Until then we have to pay $50million for each seat on a Russian Soyuz.

[mstng86]

They are doing fine. SpaceShip Two is doing glide testing right now. They are running about two flights per week. The first powered flight is expected later this summer.

However, SpaceShipTwo is a suborbital ship. The real deal is going to be the Dragon capsule with the Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX. They've already flown an unmanned version of Dragon and are working on a manned version. Unfortunately they don't expect to be ready to fly people until 2015. Until then we have to pay $50million for each seat on a Russian Soyuz.

Dayyum that is a long ways away.

I guess no one else thinks this, but I think it is a shame a brit and Russia are the two main players in this.

I like Branson, but we need some American action.

[KoopaTroopa]

This makes me sad... I was fortunate to watch one of the launches years ago.

[Sgt Beavis]

Glad they stopped wasting tax money on finding out if other planets have water.

Yea, because that has no bearing on the future of humanity or the discovery of alien life.

And where did you hear that? They never stopped doing that.

[mustangguy289]

Yea, because that has no bearing on the future of humanity or the discovery of alien life.

And where did you hear that? They never stopped doing that.

So what exactly are they stopping. I guess I heard wrong.

[Strychnine]

So what exactly are they stopping.

The shuttle program. Manned flight.

[Sgt Beavis]

The shuttle program. Manned flight.

Correct, our Astronauts will be going to the space station on the Russian Soyuz. We won't have the ability to fly our own people again until 2015.

On the bright side, the new spacecraft should be astronomically more affordable than the Shuttle was.

[mustangguy289]

Correct, our Astronauts will be going to the space station on the Russian Soyuz. We won't have the ability to fly our own people again until 2015.

On the bright side, the new spacecraft should be astronomically more affordable than the Shuttle was.

Ok I was lead to believe we are stopping all space flight. In reality we are jsut taking a break to design and build better spacecraft.

[GhostTX]

Correct, our Astronauts will be going to the space station on the Russian Soyuz. We won't have the ability to fly our own people again until 2015.

On the bright side, the new spacecraft should be astronomically more affordable than the Shuttle was.

What new spacecraft? Last I heard, everything was scrapped.

Another vid link:

http://mashable.com/2011/07/08/shuttle-launch-atlantis-video/

[Kenny_Stang]

What new spacecraft? Last I heard, everything was scrapped.

Another vid link:
http://mashable.com/2011/07/08/shutt...tlantis-video/

Private Enterprise, SpaceX etc.

[mstng86]

man, the livestream is terrible. Constantly breaking up

[Sgt Beavis]

What new spacecraft? Last I heard, everything was scrapped.

The Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX. NASA spent only $250million to develop both and they have already flown. The Dragon capsule was meant to deliver cargo to the space station but SpaceX had the foresight to also design it so it could be modified for manned flight. NASA has funded them with another $92Million to develop an escape system under the new CCDev program.

The CCDev program is also leading to the creation of the CT100 capsule from Boeing and a small lifting body design from a company called Serria Nevada.

The great thing is that NASA isn't outright paying for these. They are providing seed money for their development and will later buy services for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) access. So far NASA has spent about $500Million for these manned spacecraft.

Compare that to the cancelled Constellation program. They spent a total of $11billion and have little to show for it. The Orion spacecraft has since been renamed the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and is still be worked on. The idea is that the MPCV will be used for flights beyond LEO.

Oh, BTW, this is how innovative private industry can be. SpaceX built that Falcon 9 rocket with relatively little money from the government. However they also modified the design so that they can strap three of the rockets together to create Falcon Heavy. This rocket will fly late next year. It can lift TWICE the cargo of the Space Shuttle and about half of what the Saturn V used to lift. All that for a fraction of the cost.

[2165 Turbo Rail]

Doh