Discovery readied for retirement

[Marc]

NASA have released pics of Discovery's forward reaction control system (RCS) being removed.

This is being done to ready the shuttle to go on display following it's retirement and part of the process to make sure no toxic materials or chemicals remain on board.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/110327retire/gallery.html

 

[clint g]

It's a shame the program is ending without a replacement

 

[C.E. Evans]

And then, the number was down to two...

 

[Marc]

It's a shame the program is ending without a replacement

Well despite the ongoing argy-bargy over Constellation, Lockheed is still went ahead with the unveiling of the Orion capsule.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/22/orion-moon-craft-unveiled-new-spaceflight-facility/

 

[sojourner]

^Too bad Orion is a shadow of it's former self. Blame Ares I for that.

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

Then it should fit right in since the space shuttle itself is but a shadow of its original design ideas.

 

[MANT!]

Good, the Shuttle has been a milstone around NASA's neck for a LONG time..

Too expensive to support and too limited in it's capabilities from the original concepts..

 

[Trekker4747]

Good, the Shuttle has been a milstone around NASA's neck for a LONG time..

Too expensive to support and too limited in it's capabilities from the original concepts..

A milstone around NASA's neck?

Wha????

 

[ngc7293]

Good, the Shuttle has been a milstone around NASA's neck for a LONG time..

Too expensive to support and too limited in it's capabilities from the original concepts..

A milstone around NASA's neck?

Wha????

I got the reference A Millstone - a big heavy weight hanging around NASA's neck.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

More like a Milhous given the story of the shuttle's origin.

 

[KJbushway]

Well, I think that it will make a good display at a museum. Good luck to the next in line to carry out the duties of NASA.

 

[diankra]

Not entirely the milestone it might seem - the RCS and OMS pods usually got taken out once an orbiter was back on the ground.
It's just that this time, they won't be putting anything but dummies back :-(

 

[Marc]

Not entirely the milestone it might seem - the RCS and OMS pods usually got taken out once an orbiter was back on the ground.
It's just that this time, they won't be putting anything but dummies back :-(

Are you sure?

The way the article reads they are being removed to be decontaminated and then will be put back in place.

 

[Blip]

I'd be curious to know just how far that decommissioning goes... is it similar to the ex-Airforce birds they keep in the desert, potentially feasible to reactivate?

(I can't imagine a scenario where you would, but I seem to recall a book from years back, "Fallen Angels" that involved precisely that being done)

 

[sojourner]

^Spares are the real issue in keeping the shuttles flying. A lot of the tooling to build spare parts has already been demolished. With the Airforce craft, generally there are enough that they can cannibalize some to keep the rest flying.

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

Actually, during my time at Davis-Monthan, they were there mostly because they could be cannibalized to help keep other aircraft flying. Some of them do get reused as target drones, but for the most part they are there for spares. After a while when they become pretty much worthless they get cut up and recycled. There are some exceptions to that, for instance the B-52's are there partly for arms limitation reasons to prove that they have been removed from service.

 

[SchwEnt]

Even if Discovery and the other orbiters were kept in mothballs in museums, I don't think it would matter very much.

Some incredible scenario where they'd need to haul an orbiter out of a museum for one more spaceflight...
the ETs and SRBs are long gone. How you gonna get the shuttle into space?

 

[diankra]

Even if Discovery and the other orbiters were kept in mothballs in museums, I don't think it would matter very much.

Some incredible scenario where they'd need to haul an orbiter out of a museum for one more spaceflight...
the ETs and SRBs are long gone. How you gonna get the shuttle into space?

Added to which, you also need all the launch pad support systems - the mobile launch platform, the pad tower, the correct fuel feed lines and electrical connections... [Quick wikipedia check]39A is still in Shuttle configuration, and being used for the last few flights, but 39B was stripped of many of its shuttle-related fittings after 2007 so that it could launch Ares test flights.

 

[Wanderlust]

Once they are put in museums they are done for good no matter what.

I love the shuttles but it is not a shame they are being retired. They are too costly and not all that safe. I am excited about the new privately developed alternatives such as Falcon 9 and Falcon heavy.