Last shuttle launch for Endeavour

[groovyone]

3:47PM EDT tomorrow
NASA - Space Shuttle

Here is a very cool website documenting the last one coming up:
The Last Shuttle

It will be a sad, but long overdue day for NASA.

[Howard Barlow]

Originally Posted by groovyone

It will be a sad, but long overdue day for NASA.

Why is it overdue?

[groovyone]

The shuttles are WAY past their planned service life. They are starting to have issues with aging, not to mention a severe lack of spare parts.

Plus the replacement should have been along some time ago but keeps getting cut.

[Howard Barlow]

Aging? Ask a B52 about aging. They can make parts cheaper than paying the Russians an extortion fee.

[groovyone]

Originally Posted by Howard Barlow

Aging? Ask a B52 about aging. They can make parts cheaper than paying the Russians an extortion fee.

They could, but most of the shops that made the parts are long gone. We don't have the budget to get new stuff made. Almost all the spare parts went into building Endeavour after Challenger.

[Howard Barlow]

Originally Posted by groovyone

They could, but most of the shops that made the parts are long gone. We don't have the budget to get new stuff made. Almost all the spare parts went into building Endeavour after Challenger.

Any budget that can pay the millions to Moscow for a ride is a budget that can make parts.

If I continue with this thread, I will violate forum rules.

[groovyone]

Originally Posted by Howard Barlow

Any budget that can pay the millions to Moscow for a ride is a budget that can make parts.

If I continue with this thread, I will violate forum rules.

You'd like to think that, and we'd love to see the money. The bottom line is no one is giving us the money to do so.

[groovyone]

Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach has scrubbed today's STS-134 launch attempt because of an issue associated with Auxiliary Power Unit 1 heaters. There will be at least a 48-hour scrub turnaround while engineers assess the issue. NASA Television will air a news conference later this afternoon.

[crbeveri]

Originally Posted by Howard Barlow

Any budget that can pay the millions to Moscow for a ride is a budget that can make parts.

If I continue with this thread, I will violate forum rules.

and thus the reason I can not comment on it as well.

[groovyone]

She finally launched and is on her way to the ISS.

Only one launch left...

[Flores]

wish I could have been there... maybe I will try for the last one...

The Shuttle launch is what fueled my lust for big lenses...

[groovyone]

Originally Posted by Flores

wish I could have been there... maybe I will try for the last one...

The Shuttle launch is what fueled my lust for big lenses...

It was the cause for my first $1K+ lens as well.

[dunderwood]

I bought my 100-400 for a shuttle launch as well, STS-131.