Shuttle Fleet Grounded!!!

Sky news are reporting that NASA has grounded the whole shuttle fleet following yesterdays launch, which once again showed foam falling from the ET.

NASA have confirmed that Discovery is not in danger but have decided it is no longer safe to launch the remaining shuttles!

While the US space agency said the foam did not damage the shuttle on Tuesday's launch, a spokesman said that future flights are on hold until the problem is corrected.

Link to full story!!!


Mic


Edit: Links added etc.....

[edit on 27/7/2005 by MickeyDee]

[edit on 27/7/2005 by MickeyDee]

Heres a link to the ATSNN article on this matter:

Link

If anything awful happens similar to what we experienced 2 years ago, then NASA will lose a lot of crediblity and maybe a lot of funding.

as much as I love it, the craft is a bit out dated, over 20 years I think.

I'm speechless. When I heard about the foam again, I skipped a few beats. This is killing me.

Words cannot express how let down I am by NASA.:shk:

Originally posted by evanfitz
If anything awful happens similar to what we experienced 2 years ago, then NASA will lose a lot of crediblity and maybe a lot of funding.

as much as I love it, the craft is a bit out dated, over 20 years I think.

o yea definily,if this time failed agian, alot of people who work there might get fired.

Looks like it could be a while until we get to see another launch.

Yes, hopefully it'll be an eternal wait....as we should take this as a sign that this aging fleet is only good for museums, not active space missions, and quit sitting on our duffs and design a better ship....

I'd wager that given a couple billion, the Branson/Rutan company could design a much better orbitter....(and a safer one).

I thought Macdonall-Douglas (I misspelled it, I'm sure of it) designed a new orbiter shuttle. Looks like a small rocket, sorta. But then there's the engine module and mission module attatched to it. I personally favour the MD idea, modular orbiters are necessary, and make it so much easier to transport the ISS modules. Anyone know who the other contender is for the Orbiter Contract?

As much as i hate to say this.....God i was so right!

For months i argued till i was blue in the face that the shuttles were old and should be retired but NOBODY agreed with me!

I really wish the shuttles could continue but they are too much of a risk and must be grounded permanantly!

I am very sure that STS-114 was the last shuttle launch.....Quite strange how the Return To Flight mission will also be the last flight!

So.....

Goodbye Discovery, Atlantis & Endeavor.....Long live the CEV!!!!!


Mic

Originally posted by MickeyDee
As much as i hate to say this.....God i was so right!

For months i argued till i was blue in the face that the shuttles were old and should be retired but NOBODY agreed with me!

I really wish the shuttles could continue but they are too much of a risk and must be grounded permanantly!

I am very sure that STS-114 was the last shuttle launch.....Quite strange how the Return To Flight mission will also be the last flight!

So.....

Goodbye Discovery, Atlantis & Endeavor.....Long live the CEV!!!!!

I'm going to disagree with you, ans I think they will be back in 2-3 months.

Originally posted by MickeyDee
As much as i hate to say this.....God i was so right!

For months i argued till i was blue in the face that the shuttles were old and should be retired but NOBODY agreed with me!

I really wish the shuttles could continue but they are too much of a risk and must be grounded permanantly!

I am very sure that STS-114 was the last shuttle launch.....Quite strange how the Return To Flight mission will also be the last flight!

So.....

Goodbye Discovery, Atlantis & Endeavor.....Long live the CEV!!!!!

I'm going to disagree with you, ans I think they will be back in 2-3 months.

First, I think the phrase "fleet is grounded" is too funny. It's not like we have a large Shuttle fleet zooming through the sky on daily basis, and all of a sudden -- "get down, you all are grounded". This is ridiculous. Each launch, no matter how routine (or not) is a huge enterprise and an exceptional event in itself (which will hopefully change). So the "grounding" is a way glorified way of saying "we need to look at the problem". It sounds megalomaniac, and symptomatic of NASA culture.

Originally posted by Aelita
First, I think the phrase "fleet is grounded" is too funny. It's not like we have a large Shuttle fleet zooming through the sky on daily basis, and all of a sudden -- "get down, you all are grounded". This is ridiculous. Each launch, no matter how routine (or not) is a huge enterprise and an exceptional event in itself (which will hopefully change). So the "grounding" is a way glorified way of saying "we need to look at the problem". It sounds megalomaniac, and symptomatic of NASA culture.

true true...but its the press that are the ones who blow it all out of proportion.

Its not like Nasa said: OMFG did you see the size of the peice of foam...Thats it, ATENTION AMERICA, THE SHUTTLES ARE GROUNDED, I REPEAT, THE SHUTTLES ARE GROUNDED!

heres how it actually came out:

"Until we've fixed this, we're not ready to fly," said Bill Parsons, NASA's space shuttle program manager, during a press briefing here at Johnson Space Center. "You could say that we're grounded."

i agree they might still be used but we need to move on i have never known any other space craft out of nasa and i am 27 years old! come on! Lets move forward and stop holding on to something that is way too aged for its own good, the shuttle has exceeded its goal many many times over, it was only to be a stepping that turned into a boulder.

Originally posted by Char2c35t
i agree they might still be used but we need to move on i have never known any other space craft out of nasa and i am 27 years old! come on! Lets move forward and stop holding on to something that is way too aged for its own good, the shuttle has exceeded its goal many many times over, it was only to be a stepping that turned into a boulder.

ok, then what do you propose we do about the ISS...its unfinished, it will take (est) 28 trips to finish it.

Personally I say we choose either Atlas or Delta rocket, and take a look at all ISS cargo missions and pick which ones are smaller and easiest to install and launch them up to the ISS, they will be of course unmanned, but have it timed right so the ISS astrounauts will be suited up and also have the CanadArm grab the ISS component and place it where it should go.

Nasa has admited that since the shuttle will retire in 2010 that they could only do around 15 ISS payload missions. But those statistics were before the whole foam grounded thing. Personally I'm glad Nasa had put a camera on the ET to record the orbiter to see if foam would hit it...but now I wish that they kept that video underwraps.

I think that shuttle flight should stay normal, and If foam has come off in big chunks since the beginning of the shuttle program, then I say lets hope for 5 more years of good luck, But just in case, keep a good eye on the shuttle during launches, and if one gets hit and we cant fix it in orbit then keep the crew at the ISS and have the shuttle go unmanned into a suicide dive into the ocean.

Originally posted by Murcielago
I'm going to disagree with you, ans I think they will be back in 2-3 months.

Seems your right they'll fly again, maybe a bit longer than 2-3 months though!

I heard today that NASA wants the shuttles up and running by the end of the year!


Mic

Bring ENTERPRISE out of mothballs.
Hasnt it got the least flight hours.
Time for new re-useable shuttle.....ASAP
RE-furbish to actually fly into space. It was designed for ground and gliding tests only but would be cheaper

[edit on 1-8-2005 by Jezza]

Originally posted by Jezza
Bring ENTERPRISE out of mothballs.
Hasnt it got the least flight hours.
Time for new re-useable shuttle.....ASAP

RE-furbish to actually fly into space. It was designed for ground and gliding tests only but would be cheaper

[edit on 1-8-2005 by Jezza]

It would still use the same TPS though and its been the tiles that have caused all the problems so far!

I think Challenger was also converted from a test model which took alot of money and manpower, not worth it really!

Mic

I heard on the radio over the weekend that the tank foam was change several years ago to a non CFC design.

Prior to the change the shuttle had no tank foam breakage.

From the report I heard is that NASA will go back to the freon type of propelant that sprays the foam onto the tank.

Some how the non CFC foam spray does not stick as well as the freon spray, I am not a chemist, maybe someone here knows how the two differ.

NASA is exempt from US enviromental laws and will use the CFC spray on Shuttle tanks.

This should take care of the problem in the future, but it won't help them now on this flight.

Say a prayer!!!

Originally From BBC News!
The US space shuttle fleet is to remain grounded until March at the earliest, Nasa officials have said.

I bet come March they still wont be ready!

Pour somes billions into the CEV and put the shuttle in the bin!

Mic