Sunday, May 11, 2003
SPACE CASE
I'm a life-long space fanatic, as my space web site makes clear. Here's an article (don't skip the second part, linked at the bottom of the page) from a couple of weeks ago by Bruce Moomaw that addresses some pressing issues in the aftermath of the loss of Columbia. Basically, Moomaw takes on the "elephant at the table" -- the extreme cost and risk of continuing to operate the remaining shuttle fleet, and the practical problem that the U.S. space program has gotten itself into: Completing construction and then operating the space station (ISS) is utterly dependent on the shuttle program, but the cost and risk of the shuttle program makes continuation of the ISS program very problematic. Moomaw's suggestion for dealing with this? Automate the shuttle. The Russians proved that this can be done with the sole -- unmanned, but very successful -- flight of their Buran shuttle copy. Use Soyuz expendables for crew transfer and life-boat duty until a successor vehicle can be built.
As much as I'm a deep-rooted proponent of manned spaceflight, I can't help but think that this idea is flat-out brilliant: It elegantly cuts the Gordian knot entangling ISS and the troubled shuttle fleet, it could be done cheaply and quickly and would likely have the benefit of making all ISS operations less expensive. I say do it.
GB, THHotA
posted by Greg 6:19 PM
