Simviation Forums

The space shuttle Discovery is set to launch May 15th. Will be good to see the shuttles up and running again. Lets hope for a safe launch.

Looks like I'm gonna have to clear my schedule for that day and try to get tickets to the press area...

 It's about time.

Sweet! I'll have to be on the lookout!

The space shuttle Discovery is set to launch May 15th. Will be good to see the shuttles up and running again. Lets hope for a safe launch.

Not only a safe launch, but also a safe return as well.

Its about friggin' time!

I have been waiting for this for quite a while

Its about friggin' time!

They were just taking their time and being cautious, its not like we haven't had astronauts not flying in space since Columbia was lost-we just haven't had any shuttle launches.

Sweet!!!! Since the columbia incident, this one will be fine, they will do everything possible to make sure it is a perfect flight, to make an impression.

There has to be new technologies discovered that could create a much safer shuttle though.  It's high time NASA builds one.  After-all, the shuttle design is now over 30 years old.

Thats true, but it is very expensive and the shuttles have been very successiful.

I agree with those who say these ships are not the way to move forward, but I think it's important to keep Shuttle flights going for a while to support the completion of the ISS. And no doubt these missions will yield valuable data for planning the next generation of space shuttles, which will, I hope, be somewhere between STS and Space Ship One.
 NASA really needs a simple,workhorse people-mover and better robotic freighters to really make the most of orbital space, IMHO... they could learn a lot from shops like Scaled, who are redefining space technology without re-inventing the wheel, and the Russians, who have been methodically tweaking their  tried & true, simple, rugged hardware with great success.
 But it's always a thrill to see a Shuttle launch, and as a pilot, I love seeing a spacecraft return on a runway. This mission won't disappoint, I think...

I read that engineers from the firm that made the O-rings knew that the cold weather would be a problem (regarding the Challenger disaster).  I had to read their report for a technical writing class and they didn't communicate very well as they spoke in "techninese" too much...