Table of Contents
Could the ISS be built without the space shuttle?
Launching and assembling the ISS in its current design could not have been accomplished without the STS (Shuttle system), but that is largely because the ISS was designed with the STS in mind as its launch vehicle.
What will replace space shuttles?
What is Orion? Orion is NASA’s new spacecraft, built to take humans farther into space than they’ve ever gone before. It will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew and provide a safe return to Earth.
Why did the US stop using the space shuttle?
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.
Could the shuttle have gone to the moon?
Can the Space Shuttle fly to the Moon? A. No, the Shuttle is designed to travel to low-Earth orbit (within a few hundred miles of the Earth’s surface). It does not carry enough propellant to leave Earth orbit and travel to the Moon.
What happened to the Russian space shuttle?
On 12 May 2002, a hangar at Baikonur collapsed because of a structural failure due to poor maintenance. Eight workers were killed and the Buran spacecraft was destroyed as well as a mock-up of an Energia booster rocket.
Should NASA have developed a second-generation space shuttle in the 1980s?
According to Hale, NASA should have been developing a second-generation space shuttle in the 1980s, long before the disastrous loss of the shuttle Columbia and President George W. Bush’s unveiling in 2004 of a new vision that laid the foundation for the shuttles’ retirement.
Why have all the space shuttles failed?
“The landscape is littered with failed shuttle follow-on programs,” Launius told SPACE.com. One by one, each program ended after development plans bumped up against funding and politics – an experience familiar throughout NASA’s history.
What happens to NASA astronauts when the Space Shuttle ends?
After the wheels of the space shuttle roll to a stop for the final time, NASA astronauts will have to rely on Russian spaceships for their rides into space until commercial American vehicles are ready to fly crews to orbit.
Why is NASA retiring its space shuttles?
NASA is retiring its three remaining space shuttles to focus on future missions to an asteroid and eventually Mars. Meanwhile, the private sector has been charged with developing spacecraft to reach the International Space Station and other possible destinations in low-Earth orbit. [ NASA’s Space Shuttle: Top to Bottom]