SPACE AFTER THE SHUTTLE

Space after the Shuttle

Abstract

This paper will focus on the replacement of the shuttle and the different and apparent diverging goals of NASA and ESA. Paper also focuses on the NASA budget and the government intervention in making plans, and current decisions. It is quite possible that NASA's leaders and managers operated with an inaccurate picture of how resources were allocated to shuttle performance and safety activities. Furthermore, when NASA managers received information that challenged their beliefs, they often opted to interpret the information using existing paradigms. Goldin himself was personally attached to the FBC initiative, certainly would have liked to see it succeed, and interpreted information in a way that suggested his initiatives were succeeding. NASA's managers tried to balance the conflicting goals or budget and schedule performance versus safety under conditions of uncertainty and resource scarcity. Under such conditions, they were likely to err on either side, pushing too much toward safety or overemphasizing budget, schedule, and other efficiency targets. In addition, pursuit or the partially inconsistent objectives or the FBC approach was an experiment that pushed the limits of technology and organization. Consequently, in addition to managing tradeoffs, NASA's leaders faced the uncertainty or experimentation without any clear idea of how far their system could be pushed before it broke down.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

NASA Development5

Shuttle Components, Operations, and Maintenance7

Politics and Economics12

Constellation Program17

NASA Is Working On Future Goals19

New Projects to Take Over21

Conclusion22

References24

Space after the Shuttle

Introduction

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) so-called space shuttle system is a small fleet of reusable spacecraft designed to transport people and cargo from Earth to low Earth orbit and back. In the 21st century, its primary function has been to build and service the International Space Station (ISS). What is typically referred to as a space shuttle consists of an orbiter (technically, an orbiter vehicle, or OV), a pair of solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and an external liquid fuel tank (ET). Each orbiter is powered by three liquid-fueled space shuttle main engines (SSMEs) that are integrated into the vehicle. From its inception, the U.S' space shuttle program has been the subject of considerable media coverage, in both good times and bad.

NASA's space shuttle fleet has included up to five orbiters, first launched in the following order between 1981 and 1992: Columbia (OV-102, 1981), Challenger (OV-099, 1983), Discovery (OV-103, 1984), Atlantis (OV-104, 1985), and Endeavour (OV-105, 1992). Challenger was destroyed in January 1986 during launch. Columbia was destroyed on returning to Earth in February 2003. NASA's first piloted space shuttle mission had a crew of two. Crews now typically include seven people (McDougall 2006, 12-98).

Officially, NASA's shuttle system is referred to as the Space Transportation System (STS). Over time, inside and outside NASA, the fleet and its individual orbiters became known simply as the space shuttle. Shuttle mission designations all start with “STS” followed by a number. For example, the last mission of the orbiter Challenger was designated STS-51, and the last mission of Columbia was ...