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Forum: Space Shuttles - Space Station
Topic: Was the space shuttle program a mistake?

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Message to Edit: HTML is ON UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend	Originally posted by garymilgrom on 06-29-2012 08:40 AM The Columbia Accident Investigation Board made a fair analysis of the Shuttle in its report. Quoting from the CAIB volume 1: <BLOCKQUOTE>[i]Although an engineering marvel that enables a wide-variety of on-orbit operations, including the assembly of the International Space Station, the Shuttle has few of the mission capabilities that NASA originally promised. It cannot be launched on demand, does not recoup its costs, no longer carries national security payloads, and is not cost-effective enough to carry commercial satellites. Despite efforts to improve its safety, the Shuttle remains a complex and risky system that remains central to U.S. ambitions in space. Columbia's failure to return home is a harsh reminder that the Space Shuttle is a developmental vehicle that operates not in routine flight but in the realm of dangerous exploration.[/i]</BLOCKQUOTE> My personal opinion is that the failure of the program to meet its original promises does not mean the entire program was without merit. Manned space flight serves an emotional purpose - to excite and inspire others - and in this the Shuttle did a superb job.
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