Should NASA still be the driving force in space expedition? There is no doubt that there has been a lot of wastage at NASA, to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. Could this money go a lot further in the hands of private corporations? I think with what we are now starting to see, that the answer is yes. From Virgin Galactic to SpaceX to a hundred other companies all over the world, the race is on. Space travel is becoming a reality which means there is much cheaper ways to get into space and back. These companies are making it somewhat easy for the rich to get into space, how soon will it be before the costs come down by way of economies of scale?
These companies are proving that they can do it cheaper and with no taxpayer money, so why not go with this....NASA stick with experiments and all other details of the flight but the craft and launch be left in the hands of private a consortium. They take the astronauts into space, to the space station, whatever needs be and NASA spends much more on the actual experiments and building out of future space stations? This way billions can be saved on a yearly basis by funding cuts to NASA and their ongoing space program.
NASA's final shuttle mission lifts off
The space shuttle Atlantis, STS-135 lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 8, 2011. The 12-day mission to the International Space Station is the last mission in the Space Shuttle Program.
Photograph by: Joe Skipper, Reuters
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — The final space shuttle launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Friday morning, signalling the start of the final chapter of the storied 30-year NASA space program.
At least 750,000 people, who descended on Florida's "space coast" over the past several days, watched Atlantis's four crewmembers — Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley, flight engineer Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus — take off shortly after its scheduled 11:26 ET launch under cloudy, but rain-free skies.
It is the final shuttle takeoff after the program was cancelled last year in favour of focusing on deep-space missions. Private companies, such as SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada will likely compete to become the first to build a next-generation space capsule that could take astronauts and their equipment to the International Space Station.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama praised the shuttle program but said it was time to focus on new projects.
"Let's start stretching the boundaries so we're not doing the same things over and over again. But rather, let's start thinking about what's the next horizon, what's the next frontier out there," he said.
Over the next 12 days, Atlantis's crew will conduct research into robotic refuelling techniques, and Canadian robotics will be a big player in those tests.
Many satellites are running out of fuel and one way to prevent them from becoming space junk is to robotically refuel them in orbit. The problem is most satellites weren't designed to be refuelled. Mathieu Caron, the Canadian Space Agency's acting manager of mission controllers, said most satellites weren't even designed to be accessed after launch.
To help change that, on-board Atlantis is a refrigerator-sized device called the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) tool kit
The toolkit, provided by NASA, has been specially designed to be used with the station's Canadarm 2 and Dextre, the station's two-arm handyman robot, to simulate robotic refuelling of satellites. The hope is that, in the future, a robotic device could service satellites in orbit, even those not intended to be robotically refuelled.
A satellite's fuel tank is triple-sealed and covered with protective blankets. The RRM hardware includes four specialized tools for the Canadian-built robot Dextre: a wire cutter and blanket manipulation tool, a multi-function tool, a safety cap removal tool and a nozzle tool. Dextre will cut through the simulated satellite's exterior, remove layers of insulation and cut away the wiring covering the fuel cap, Caron said. Dextre will then connect a hose to the fuel valve and pump simulated liquid fuel into the fake spacecraft.
If the test is successful, Canada's well-established robotics expertise will make it the natural front-runner to design and build a robotic refuelling robot, capable of capturing a satellite and servicing it — in procedures controlled remotely by people on Earth.
Canada's first man on the space shuttle, however, has his own vision for the future of the Canadian Space program.
Marc Garneau believes this country should plan an all-Canadian robotic mission to Mars — a move that would stimulate the country's space industry during uncertain times for North American space programs.
"I think that Canada should build an all-Canadian mission that goes to Mars. I'm talking about a robotic mission," said Garneau recently told Postmedia News.
The veteran of three space shuttle missions also favours doubling the Canadian Space Agency's $425-million annual budget over the next decade.
"But wouldn't it be great if an all-Canadian payload was launched to Mars to do some first-class science? The Americans are the only ones who've ever done it successfully. Canada could do that. It would be a great challenge because we'll need more robotic missions before we send humans. Canada has the capability and this could be really inspiring."
A total of eight Canadian astronauts have flown aboard shuttles, and the country's first woman in space said the event changed her life.
Roberta Bondar, a 66-year-old neurologist, was able to experience first-hand the debilitating effects of space on the human nervous system. Since then she has applied that knowledge to her research, devising better diagnostic and treatment options for patients with Parkinson's disease, among other conditions, she said.
The space shuttle program widened the field for participants compared to previous space programs, Bondar noted.
And although the shuttle served humanity well, it's time to move on, she added.
"I would go some place different. There's a lot to discover still on the moon. What are the resources there? How did it form? Do you realize no human being has ever stepped on the far side of the moon?"
NASA plans to send the remaining three shuttles in the fleet — Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis — to museums across the country to go on permanent display.
Canada's eight shuttle astronauts:
- Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in space, flying on the shuttle Challenger from Oct. 5 to 13, 1984. He flew again, on Endeavour, from May 19 to May 29, 1996. His last flight was aboard Endeavour, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, 2000.
- Roberta Bondar was the second Canadian, and the first Canadian woman, in orbit. She flew on shuttle Discovery from Jan. 22 to 30, 1992, performing experiments in the Spacelab and on the middeck.
- Steve MacLean flew onboard shuttle Columbia from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1, 1992 and on the Atlantis from Sept. 9 to 21, 2006. MacLean became the first Canadian to operate Canadarm 2 in space and the second Canadian to perform a spacewalk.
- Bjarni Tryggvason flew on shuttle Discovery Aug. 7 to Aug. 19, 1997, performing fluid science experiments designed to examine sensitivity to spacecraft vibrations before the construction of the International Space Station.
- Bob Thirsk flew on the Columbia June 20 to July 7, 1996, performing experiments on plants, animals, and humans. From May to December 2009, Thirsk was the first Canadian long-term resident of the International Space Station, living there for six months. His transport that time was not the space shuttle, but a Russian Soyuz rocket.
- Chris Hadfield flew on the Atlantis Nov. 12 to 20, 1995, becoming the only Canadian to board the Russian space station Mir and the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm in orbit. From April 19 to May 1, 2001, he flew on Endeavour and was the first Canadian to spacewalk, conducting two outings on that mission.
At least 750,000 people, who descended on Florida's "space coast" over the past several days, watched Atlantis's four crewmembers — Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley, flight engineer Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus — take off shortly after its scheduled 11:26 ET launch under cloudy, but rain-free skies.
It is the final shuttle takeoff after the program was cancelled last year in favour of focusing on deep-space missions. Private companies, such as SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada will likely compete to become the first to build a next-generation space capsule that could take astronauts and their equipment to the International Space Station.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama praised the shuttle program but said it was time to focus on new projects.
"Let's start stretching the boundaries so we're not doing the same things over and over again. But rather, let's start thinking about what's the next horizon, what's the next frontier out there," he said.
Over the next 12 days, Atlantis's crew will conduct research into robotic refuelling techniques, and Canadian robotics will be a big player in those tests.
Many satellites are running out of fuel and one way to prevent them from becoming space junk is to robotically refuel them in orbit. The problem is most satellites weren't designed to be refuelled. Mathieu Caron, the Canadian Space Agency's acting manager of mission controllers, said most satellites weren't even designed to be accessed after launch.
To help change that, on-board Atlantis is a refrigerator-sized device called the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) tool kit
The toolkit, provided by NASA, has been specially designed to be used with the station's Canadarm 2 and Dextre, the station's two-arm handyman robot, to simulate robotic refuelling of satellites. The hope is that, in the future, a robotic device could service satellites in orbit, even those not intended to be robotically refuelled.
A satellite's fuel tank is triple-sealed and covered with protective blankets. The RRM hardware includes four specialized tools for the Canadian-built robot Dextre: a wire cutter and blanket manipulation tool, a multi-function tool, a safety cap removal tool and a nozzle tool. Dextre will cut through the simulated satellite's exterior, remove layers of insulation and cut away the wiring covering the fuel cap, Caron said. Dextre will then connect a hose to the fuel valve and pump simulated liquid fuel into the fake spacecraft.
If the test is successful, Canada's well-established robotics expertise will make it the natural front-runner to design and build a robotic refuelling robot, capable of capturing a satellite and servicing it — in procedures controlled remotely by people on Earth.
Canada's first man on the space shuttle, however, has his own vision for the future of the Canadian Space program.
Marc Garneau believes this country should plan an all-Canadian robotic mission to Mars — a move that would stimulate the country's space industry during uncertain times for North American space programs.
"I think that Canada should build an all-Canadian mission that goes to Mars. I'm talking about a robotic mission," said Garneau recently told Postmedia News.
The veteran of three space shuttle missions also favours doubling the Canadian Space Agency's $425-million annual budget over the next decade.
"But wouldn't it be great if an all-Canadian payload was launched to Mars to do some first-class science? The Americans are the only ones who've ever done it successfully. Canada could do that. It would be a great challenge because we'll need more robotic missions before we send humans. Canada has the capability and this could be really inspiring."
A total of eight Canadian astronauts have flown aboard shuttles, and the country's first woman in space said the event changed her life.
Roberta Bondar, a 66-year-old neurologist, was able to experience first-hand the debilitating effects of space on the human nervous system. Since then she has applied that knowledge to her research, devising better diagnostic and treatment options for patients with Parkinson's disease, among other conditions, she said.
The space shuttle program widened the field for participants compared to previous space programs, Bondar noted.
And although the shuttle served humanity well, it's time to move on, she added.
"I would go some place different. There's a lot to discover still on the moon. What are the resources there? How did it form? Do you realize no human being has ever stepped on the far side of the moon?"
NASA plans to send the remaining three shuttles in the fleet — Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis — to museums across the country to go on permanent display.
Canada's eight shuttle astronauts:
- Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in space, flying on the shuttle Challenger from Oct. 5 to 13, 1984. He flew again, on Endeavour, from May 19 to May 29, 1996. His last flight was aboard Endeavour, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, 2000.
- Roberta Bondar was the second Canadian, and the first Canadian woman, in orbit. She flew on shuttle Discovery from Jan. 22 to 30, 1992, performing experiments in the Spacelab and on the middeck.
- Steve MacLean flew onboard shuttle Columbia from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1, 1992 and on the Atlantis from Sept. 9 to 21, 2006. MacLean became the first Canadian to operate Canadarm 2 in space and the second Canadian to perform a spacewalk.
- Bjarni Tryggvason flew on shuttle Discovery Aug. 7 to Aug. 19, 1997, performing fluid science experiments designed to examine sensitivity to spacecraft vibrations before the construction of the International Space Station.
- Bob Thirsk flew on the Columbia June 20 to July 7, 1996, performing experiments on plants, animals, and humans. From May to December 2009, Thirsk was the first Canadian long-term resident of the International Space Station, living there for six months. His transport that time was not the space shuttle, but a Russian Soyuz rocket.
- Chris Hadfield flew on the Atlantis Nov. 12 to 20, 1995, becoming the only Canadian to board the Russian space station Mir and the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm in orbit. From April 19 to May 1, 2001, he flew on Endeavour and was the first Canadian to spacewalk, conducting two outings on that mission.
Read more: http://www.canada.com/NASA+final+shuttle+mission+lifts/5072087/story.html#ixzz1RWx7qPAl
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