The total cost of the shuttle program was 209 Billion (2010), I wonder what cold be done with 1.5 Trillion or a portion of it being used for exploration? I would argue that while the program had its issues it was a benefit to our nation in both tech development, discovery and status. I am all about defense, but I would prefer that the funds were spent wisely or at least on something we can brag about. The F35 makes the shuttle look like a bargain... M2C
The shuttle was truly a fail for two our three of your criteria.
Development - The shuttle was extremely costly. Much more so than plain old rockets. Which is ironic really because cost savings is supposed to be one of the benefits of reusable vehicles. The shuttle did establish that a reusable launch vehicle that looks like plane was possible, but in every other respect there was no reason to have it. The shuttle was extremely limited in what it could and where it could go versus an Apollo era capsule and it has a horrendous safety record.
Discovery - To quote myself, "The shuttle was extremely limited in what it could and where it could go versus an Apollo era capsule"
As far as status goes, though, yeah, you're probably right. To the laymen out there (99% of this world) the shuttle looked badass.
Nice pics. The Shuttle program was by all measures a disaster but, hey, it was a shot.
ReplyDeleteSo I might get hammered for this but, anyway...
ReplyDeleteThe total cost of the shuttle program was 209 Billion (2010), I wonder what cold be done with 1.5 Trillion or a portion of it being used for exploration? I would argue that while the program had its issues it was a benefit to our nation in both tech development, discovery and status. I am all about defense, but I would prefer that the funds were spent wisely or at least on something we can brag about. The F35 makes the shuttle look like a bargain... M2C
The shuttle was truly a fail for two our three of your criteria.
DeleteDevelopment - The shuttle was extremely costly. Much more so than plain old rockets. Which is ironic really because cost savings is supposed to be one of the benefits of reusable vehicles. The shuttle did establish that a reusable launch vehicle that looks like plane was possible, but in every other respect there was no reason to have it. The shuttle was extremely limited in what it could and where it could go versus an Apollo era capsule and it has a horrendous safety record.
Discovery - To quote myself, "The shuttle was extremely limited in what it could and where it could go versus an Apollo era capsule"
As far as status goes, though, yeah, you're probably right. To the laymen out there (99% of this world) the shuttle looked badass.