SPACE.com -- Top Ten: Questions and Answers About the Columbia Board Report


	Top Ten: Questions and Answers About the Columbia Board Report By Jim Banke Senior Producer, posted: 07:00 am ET 07 July 2003

9. How much longer can the space shuttle still fly safely and what should NASA be doing in the meantime?

We believe the shuttle should continue to be flown until it has launched every component of the space station that is already designed and built for delivery to orbit by the shuttle -- however long that takes. NASA thinks it needs the shuttle through 2020.

At the same time, the nation must move forward on building a new vehicle whose sole purpose is to fly humans to and from Earth orbit, which for now seems to be going by the name of Orbital Space Plane (OSP).

The OSP doesn't have to be fancy and include all the latest bells and whistles not even invented yet. It just has to work using proven technology. And if the OSP is available before the shuttle is finished with the space station, then the shuttle should be modified to launch, cruise, dock, undock, re-enter and land by remote control.

In the meantime, the shuttle must continue to be upgraded where it can to make it safer for the astronauts, remembering that it's impossible to make every shuttle mission completely risk free.

Beginning now, all future cargo destined for the space station or anywhere else in space should be designed to fly atop the nation's expendable launch vehicles. And in order to retire the shuttle as soon as possible, a re-useable cargo carrier that can return a large amount of weight from orbit should be added to our bag of tricks.

And while we're building this wish list, add some kind of autonomous, re-useable orbital maneuvering vehicle capable of moving satellites between orbits.

If you want to talk about sending humans beyond low Earth orbit, then start designing those ships too -- but don't try to make up one ship that can do all things to all people and employ the latest cutting edge technology. That's what people asked for during the 1970s and we got the space shuttle -- the most marvelous, capable flying machine ever invented that didn't deliver on its promise.

Double NASA's budget for the next 10 years and we can do all of this and so much more. Unfortunately we don't think the White House nor Congress -- whether led by the Republicans or the Democrats -- will have the political guts to provide the leadership and money to do so.

Finally, we believe the very last shuttle mission ever flown should be on a mission to retrieve the Hubble Space Telescope from orbit and bring it back to Earth. Both belong on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Next page: CAIB report card.

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