Sage-Tips

Why did US stop Space Shuttle program?

While reentering Earth’s atmosphere, Columbia broke apart, killing the entire crew. All of these factors — high costs, slow turnaround, few customers, and a vehicle (and agency) that had major safety problems — combined to make the Bush administration realize it was time for the Space Shuttle Program to retire.

Why was there no replacement for the Space Shuttle?

“The bottom line answer is that it was too expensive. Way too expensive,” former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory system engineer Mark Adler wrote in 2015. “The shuttle and the space station completely dominated NASA’s budget for human space flight, to the point that no significant new developments were possible.

Was the Space Shuttle program a success or failure?

Criticism of the Space Shuttle program stemmed from claims that NASA’s Shuttle program failed to achieve its promised cost and utility goals, as well as design, cost, management, and safety issues. Fundamentally, it failed in the goal of reducing the cost of space access.

When did NASA shut down the Space Shuttle program?

2011
The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011, retiring the final Shuttle in the fleet. The Space Shuttle program formally ended on August 31, 2011.

Where is the space shuttle now?

Discovery is now in its new permanent home, the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

What did the space shuttle accomplish?

It launched satellites and served as an orbiting science laboratory. Its crews repaired and improved other spacecraft, such as the Hubble Space Telescope. The shuttle also flew missions for the military. On its later missions, the space shuttle was mostly used to work on the International Space Station.

What was the payload capability of the Space Shuttle?

Military funding for the Space Shuttle program was vital if NASA hoped to build the vehicle at all. But the U.S. Air Force specified a total payload capability of 65,000 pounds for Space Shuttles capable of carrying large, sophisticated military satellites into orbit. This figure was nearly three times more than NASA had originally planned.

What happened to the Space Shuttle program?

Following the Columbia disaster, shuttle flights were suspended for more than two years. And in 2004, President George Bush revealed his administration’s Vision for Space Exploration, announcing that the program would be terminated after the end of the construction of the International Space Station.

Why did NASA get rid of the Shuttle booster stage?

The contractors decided that the most suitable method of cutting costs was to scrap the manned Booster stage of the Space Shuttle. NASA opted instead to create a more traditional expendable system to carry the manned Orbiter into space. NASA kept the manned Booster on the drawing boards, though, in case it could be afforded at a later date.

Did the Buran Space Shuttle have any civilian uses?

Oleg Kotov: We had no civilian tasks for Buran and the military ones were no longer needed. It was originally designed as a military system for weapon delivery, maybe even nuclear weapons. The American shuttle also has military uses. Is this true? Did the American shuttle have “military uses”?