FAO anyone interested: Final shuttle launch dates announced
- Thread starter TheTross
- Start date
I had the pleasure of meeting Greg Johnson last year, he is the pilot scheduled for the next mission. He was saying that they always have a spare set of solid boosters ready to go for a rescue mission and that the shuttle astronauts were lobbying for a last mission that made use of these. They realised it would mean no rescue from the Space Station if something went wrong on that final trip. Nice to see that lobbying might have paid off.
Great adventure spirit these guys have knowing the possible dangers involved, my hat goes off to them
Great adventure spirit these guys have knowing the possible dangers involved, my hat goes off to them
It wouldn't mean no rescue, It'd mean no quick rescue. If they can single-crew Soyuz flights, then two of them would bring a Shuttle crew of four home eventually.
Of course, if Soyuz itself fails then it's bye bye ISS - at least for a while. That's the risk with relying on a single launcher.
It's been quite clear for a while that the old schedule wasn't going to fly, so good to have a little more certainty. NASA has obviously found another month from somewhere (presumably from the extended downtime) to allow them to push STS-134 so late in February.
PS - Mine's still on for the last night launch!
Of course, if Soyuz itself fails then it's bye bye ISS - at least for a while. That's the risk with relying on a single launcher.
It's been quite clear for a while that the old schedule wasn't going to fly, so good to have a little more certainty. NASA has obviously found another month from somewhere (presumably from the extended downtime) to allow them to push STS-134 so late in February.
PS - Mine's still on for the last night launch!
BBC News: Russian cargo ship 'under control' official says
A salient reminder if ever one were needed of the risks of retiring Shuttle. Progress shares much of its design with Soyuz, so if it can happen to one, it can happen to the other. That said, if there's a safe solution, I'm sure they'll find it - Soyuz/Progress is an incredibly reliable system.
PS - Think this should be in GD. Unwashed masses, maybe, but there's plenty there who would be interested.
A salient reminder if ever one were needed of the risks of retiring Shuttle. Progress shares much of its design with Soyuz, so if it can happen to one, it can happen to the other. That said, if there's a safe solution, I'm sure they'll find it - Soyuz/Progress is an incredibly reliable system.
PS - Think this should be in GD. Unwashed masses, maybe, but there's plenty there who would be interested.