Space Shuttle

“ The Challenger crew made the supreme sacrifice on their quest to extend man's horizons. As we resolve to go forward in space, let us always take with us the spirit of vision, skill, and excellence.
That spirit was evident on September 29, 1988, when the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from the launch pad. There could be no more fitting testimony to the Challenger crew and the excellence they personified than this mission, which returned our Nation to manned space flight. May our boundless dreams continue to inspire us in the pursuit of excellence-in space and in every endeavor. ”

“ A scant six decades after that first flight, Americans left the Earth's atmosphere and orbited our planet. By 1969, Neil Armstrong had left the first human footprint on the dusty surface of the Moon. Today's astronauts fly space shuttle missions that are helping us meet the challenge of global climate change, bringing the International Space Station closer to completion, and expanding our knowledge of Earth and the universe. Yet even now the Wright brothers' achievement continues to fire our dreams and beckons us to make new discoveries. ”

“ Before commitment to such a concept we have had to carefully examine the mode of operation of the Space Shuttle. Two limits are imposed on the mass transported by the Shuttle - the launch capability (up to 29 500 kg) and the reentry limit (always 14 515 kg) . That means that for low trajectories more payload can be taken into orbit than can be returned to Earth. Normally this difference is used to orbit small non-retrievable satellites. Our approach however is to use this difference to bring to Perun the expendables (oxygen, water, food, propellant) which are not to be returned to Earth. ”

“ The greatest challenge NASA faces is safely flying the Space Shuttle to assemble the ISS prior to retiring the Shuttle in 2010, while also bringing new U.S. human spaceflight capabilities on-line soon thereafter. There are a number of major transition milestones set for FY 2008, including the transition of one of the four high bays in the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Pad 39B to the Constellation Systems Program. ”

“ A mixed fleet comprised of the Space Shuttle and existing expendable launch vehicles will be the primary U.S. government means to transport people and cargo to and from space through the current decade and will be important components of the nation's launch capability well into the first decade of the 21st century. ”

“ More information has been gathered about the cosmos in 25 years than had been gleaned in all the preceding centuries. In the Space Shuttle, first launched in 1981, America now has a sophisticated new system for space research-a machine that delivers payloads routinely to orbit; allows humans to work in space ”

“ The pioneering spirit exhibited by the Wright brothers and fostered by our system of free enterprise has kept America in the forefront of innovative aeronautics-a spirit dramatically demonstrated again this year with the two successful missions of the United States Space Shuttle COLUMBIA. As it glided to perfect landings in the California desert, COLUMBIA gave us pause to reflect on another triumph in American aviation and on the creative genius of the American people. ”

“ For a quarter of a century, we've moved steadily forward in the exploration and utilization of space, extending our knowledge of our solar system, our galaxy, and our universe. The space shuttle, our most recent advance in space technology, gives us routine access to space. ”

“ The Shuttle is the only meaningful new manned space program which can be accomplished on a modest budget; It is needed to make space operations less complex and less costly; It is needed to do useful things, and It will encourage greater international participation in space flight. ”

“ In General— The International Space Station represents a significant investment of national resources, and it is a facility that embodies a cooperative international approach to the exploration and utilization of space. As such, it is important that its continued viability and productivity be ensured, to the maximum extent possible, after the Space Shuttle is retired. ”

“ Not only can the space program contribute to how this country is viewed in the eyes of the world, but cooperative space activities, such as the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Apollo-Soyuz mission and European Space Agency payloads on the Space Shuttle, are important to other countries. Technology associated with the space program has resulted in strong economic and technological interaction with developed countries, as well as in important aid to underdeveloped countries, particularly in the areas of communications and resource exploration. ”

“ However we believe that the uninsulated surface of ET is smooth enough for all ice to fall off immediately after liftoff without any negative impact on the operation of the Space Shuttle.
It is also necessary to protect the station from direct sunlight which could cause sharp variations in temperature between the light and dark orbital periods. For this purpose we have designed a sunshade of metallized foil to be erected on the sunny side of the LH tank (see Fig.8) . It has the shape of a long rectangle and is supported by the Orbiter attach points (another case of using existing hardware) . ”

“ America and its transportation industries have grown and prospered, providing employment, security, safe and efficient mobility for all Americans, and opening avenues to the future with such visionary projects as NASA's space shuttle program. ”

“ The Department of Defense, in cooperation with NASA, may use the Space Shuttle to meet national security needs. Launch priority will be provided for national security missions as governed by appropriate NASA/DoD agreements. Launches necessary to preserve and protect human life in space shall have the highest priority except in times of national emergency. Protection of space transportation capabilities employed for national security purposes will be pursued commensurate with their planned use in crisis and conflict and the threat. ”

“ A great many proposed missions could be accomplished through application of current technology but at unacceptable costs. New technology is needed which is not only mission-enabling but also cost-reducing. The Space Shuttle is NASA's first major technology project to address these twin objectives. In years to come, advanced automation will play a major role in achieving similar objectives. ”

“ Facility, equipment, and personnel transitions from Space Shuttle to Constellation will be the major emphasis of the FY 2009 budget process. NASA transition activities are focused on managing the evolution from current operations of the Space Shuttle to future operations of Constellation and emerging commercial services, in a safe, successful and smooth process. ”

“ This system will center on a space vehicle that can shuttle repeatedly from Earth to orbit and back. It will revolutionize transportation into near space, by routinizing it. It will take the astronomical costs out of astronautics. In short, it will go a long way toward delivering the rich benefits of practical space utilization and the valuable spinoffs from space efforts into the daily lives of Americans and all people. ”

“ In the scientific arena, the past decade of experience has taught us that spacecraft are an irreplaceable tool for learning about our near-Earth space environment, the Moon, and the planets, besides being an important aid to our studies of the Sun and stars. In utilizing space to meet needs on Earth, we have seen the tremendous potential of satellites for international communications and world-wide weather forecasting. ”

“ Third, a premature commitment to a high challenge, space-engineering initiative of the complexity of Apollo is inappropriate. As the Shuttle development phases down, however, there will be added flexibility to consider new space applications, space science and new space exploration activities.
--Technology Development. The Shuttle dominates our technology development effort and correctly so. It represents one of the most sophisticated technological challenges ever undertaken, and as a result, has encountered technical problems. ”

“ Space Shuttle and Unmanned Satellites Space Shuttle and Unmanned Platforms Space Shuttle and an Evolutionary/Incrementally Developed Space Station Space Shuttle and a Fully Functional Space Station A separate, unrelated, generic space requirements paper will be produced for use in addressing the national policy issues. The representative set of requirements for each space sector will be provided by DOD/DCI for national security and NASA/DOC for civil programs. A drafting group consisting of representatives of the DCI, DOD, DOC and NASA will coalesce the requirements into a single document. ”

“ Views of the Earth from space have shown us how small and fragile our home planet truly is. We are learning the imperatives of universal brotherhood and global ecology learning to think and act as guardians of one tiny blue and green island in the trackless oceans of the Universe. This new program will give more people more access to the liberating perspectives of space, even as it extends our ability to cope with physical challenges of Earth and broadens our opportunities for international cooperation in low-cost, multi-purpose space missions. ”

“ We're going forward with our shuttle flights, we're going forward to build our space station, and we are going forward with research on a new Orient Express that could, by the end of the next decade, take off from Dulles Airport, accelerate up to 25 times the speed of sound, attaining low earth orbit or flying to Tokyo within two hours. ”

“ As scientists and technicians are actually able to accompany their instruments into space, limiting boundaries between our manned and unmanned space programmes will disappear. Development of new space applications will be able to proceed much faster. Repair or servicing of satellites in space will become possible, as will delivery of valuable payloads from orbit back to Earth. ”

“ The Earth satellite vehicle will have to prove itself as a practical base, a sort of aerial aircraft carrier from which rocket ships can operate on the Earth shuttle. Before we are ready for interplanetary travel, we will have to harness some tremendous power not now available -- perhaps cosmic rays. There may have to be other space bases established as refueling stations or navigation check points. Incredible as this sounds, intelligent scientists and engineers expect to do it in a few decades. ”

“ The resulting changes in modes of flight and re-entry will make the ride safer, and less demanding for the passengers, so that men and women with work to do in space can "commute" aloft, without having to spend years in training for the skills and rigors of old-style space flight. ”

“ The amazing 'technology explosion' that has swept this country in the years since we ventured into space should remind us that robust activity in the aerospace industry is healthy for everyone - not just in jobs and income, but in the extension of our capabilities in every direction. ”

“ This option follows the Flexible Path as an exploration strategy. It operates the Shuttle into FY 2011, extends the ISS until 2020, funds technology development and develops commercial crew services to low-Earth orbit. There are three variants within this option; they differ only in the heavy-lift vehicle. ”

“ The Statement by President Nixon, 5 January 1972 I have decided today that the United States should proceed at once with the development of an entirely new type of space transportation system designed to help transform the space frontier of the 1970's into familiar territory, easily accessible for human endeavor in the 1980's and '90's. ”

“ The human-spaceflight gap: Under current conditions, the gap in U.S. ability to launch astronauts into space will stretch to at least seven years. The Committee did not identify any credible approach employing new capabilities that could shorten the gap to less than six years. The only way to significantly close the gap is to extend the life of the Shuttle Program. ”

“ The satellites should them selves be designed on the modular principle, and tending them will drive development of technologies required to repair satellites in LEO and GEO, to assemble large satellites and space probes, and to provide flight support for missions conducted farther from the Earth. Build, test, and transfer to orbit large complex space stations. This capability derives from Shuttle beam building experiments and the assembly of modular structures and produces many of the products of this stage of development. ”

“ The production of spare parts should continue in the near term to support the existing Shuttle fleet, and to preserve an option to acquire a replacement orbiter in the event of an orbiter loss or other demonstrable need. ”

“ Just as the Yankee Clipper ships of the last century symbolized American vitality, our space shuttles today capture the optimistic spirit of our times. Our many achievements have proven that we can do much in space and that there's much more we must do to ensure that America lives up to her description—a land of hope and opportunity. ”

“ Preparation is now sufficient for us to commence the actual work of construction with full confidence of success. In order to minimize technical and economic risks, the space agency will continue to take a cautious evolutionary approach in the development of this new system. ”

“ It used to be Bert Donovan. I'm the radio operator aboard this ship."
"Ship?" He was beginning to talk sense now.
"Lugger, I should say. This is the Saturn, friend. IPS freight lugger, operating on the Earth-Mars shuttle. Or, anyhow, we used to. Till he got monkeying around with that new power drive of his—"
"IPS?" I strangled. "Earth-Mars? He?"
"Take it easy, friend. IPS—interplanetary space ship. Earth-Mars—round-trip route, originally. Navigator, Lancelot Biggs, the first mate. [3] Didn't you know—"
"Omigod!" I bleated. "Don't tell me, but I—we—all of us are in the future!" ”