First the Raptor, now the shuttle?

[Craig.]

lol i never could climb the rope in gym, so i guess i am out.

[gladiator]

Look the shuttle is going to keep going up until the ISS done. There is no way in hell that NASA can abandon the Russians. Theres no way in hell that congress would allow such a thing to happen. That would not make Russia to happy, since we are the only way for the space station to be completed.
And just because it is the end of the shuttle, doesn't mean it is the end of the space program, I think its far from that...I think it is the beggining of the new space program. If NASA can get the CEV going then I think they are in great shape. Now I am not totally convinced yetabout this back to the Moon stuff...I need some proof that this is not an election year stunt. So far NASA seems pretty motivated on this one.
Hey eventually shuttle must go, and what better why for a last hoorah is finishing up the ISS, then just put them on a museum floor for future generations to look at, instead of ripping them apart and converting them to cargo carriers or waiting for disaster to put an end to all of them. The shuttle isn't getting us out of Earth orbit...EVER...I think it is time for us to step out of LEO.

[RichieB16]

There is no way that they will cancell the shuttle.  We need it too much, I think this is just a "worse case" article to grab attentions.  I'm not taking it seriously.

[Wing Nut]

I don't think so.  As they said, as the shuttle sits qand they find more and more flaws to be fixed, the less likely it is that it will ever fly again.  The next generation shuttle is supposed to be up and running by 2010, and that's only 6 years away.  If it takes 2 more years to get the shuttle up again, then they may decide to wait.

[gladiator]

After ISS is complete we won't need it as much. It has proven to be safer and more reliable to separate crew from cargo...so shuttle won't be launching satalites. We have the Progress and ATV for cargo transport...and Soyuz for crew...the CEV can also be used for crew transport. You don't need something the size of the shuttle to just bring astronauts to and from the ISS. You don't need an 18 wheeler to do the job of a sports car. We really don't need the shuttle after ISS. There have been a few articles on how we can get lifting capabilities that are even better than the shuttle, close to 100 tons just by using parts from the Atlas V family and parts from the Delta IV family.

[gladiator]

If it takes 2 more years to get the shuttle up again, then they may decide to wait.

But waiting isn't an option. The ISS needs to be completed and that cannot be done without the shuttle. The Russians want the ISS done and they are pressuring NASA to do so. Both Russia and Japan want the ISS complete so that they can start sending up larger crews. Japan will most likely travel on the shuttle, but with that out that only leaves the Soyuz. NASA isn't going to wait until 2010. I see the latest they could possibly go is maybe 2006-2007. I really think we will see a launch of the shuttle by the end of 2005. If not, well NASA better start figuring out a way to launch the ISS stuff on a Delta IV Heavy, or we are going to have some very unhappy Russians and Japanese.

[gladiator]

I heard they were planning to go back to capsules for all space work....
Hmm well it'll be interesting to see what happens, especially with the Russian shuttle under refurbishment.

I brought this up on the Orbiter forum, about Buran being refurbished, and no one had ever heard of this happening. The Russians are building a new spacecraft called Klipper, but I really don't think they are going to bring back Buran. The only Burans remaining are in parks and I think those are boilerplates, and the only other flight one was destroyed in a roof collapse. So I see it highly unlikely that Buran is coming back if that is what you mean by "the Russian shuttle"
Klipper isn't a shuttle type spacecraft either. It is what is called a biconic. I don't know much about biconics, I'm more of a capsule person, but basically it is a wingless spacecraft that kinda acts like a lifting body. But it won't be able to produce enough lift to return to a runway, it will most likely just parachute down. That is what the Lockheed Martin CEV biconic is supposed to do, splashdown. A biconic basically mixes elements of a lifting body with a capsule. Pretty cool stuff.

[RichieB16]

I wouldn't expect to see Kliper of Buran any time soon.  Actually, the Buran Shuttle no longer exists-it was destroyed when its hanger collapsed.  I think Buran's sister ships still exist but they were never assembled, so I'm assuming they are sitting in pieces somewhere.

As far as Kliper goes, they have designs on the drawing board.  Unfortunately, they need the Russian government to come up with 10 billion roubles to fund the program (and we all know how these programs run way over-budget, they'll probably need 15-20 to get it actually flying).  So, I doubt we will see either of them in the near future.  Right now, the plan is to have Kliper flying by 2010, so I would expect to see it make it's maiden flight in 2015 or so (knowning how these things tend to turn out).  The fact is there really isn't a rush for it.  The current version of the Soyuz (TMA) made its first flight about 2 years ago-so its still pretty new (although based on old systems).  

To sum it up, I don't see any replacement for the shuttle (or the Soyuz for that matter) before the next 10 years.  We need it to finish ISS (which is supposed to happen by 2010-and probably won't, I honestly don't think it will ever be completed) and that isn't possible without the shuttle.  Plus, we aren't going to abonden the most reliable spacecraft that has ever been built because of a few problems.  Wait and see, Discovery will make the return to flight mission-in 2005.  

[Ivan]

They managed to get at least one in near picture-perfect condition a few months ago. Wonder which one it is.

The nose control rocket section was rebuilt as was the tail, with completely fresh panels in yellow primer

If you compare the fixed parts on the photo with the 2002-2003 sightings of the wreck, it look like they digged out this one out of the hangar rubble.

Remember that these things are built to survive automated landings in heavy snow conditions... a lot stronger than the American shuttle.

[Wing Nut]

Let's guess where they stole the design from, huh?

[ozzy72]

Yup the KGB sure were good at acquiring top secret information. You've gotta hand it to them, look at good old Konkordski

[Ivan]

Kliper...

Does it looks like this:

[ozzy72]

Ivan WHAT is that?
Looks like an Ekranoplan met Gerry Anderson or something!!!!

Mark

[gladiator]

Getting closer to a shuttle return...

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/rt ... 40417.html

[gladiator]

Like I said earlier that I brought the Buran thing up on the Orbiter forum earlier...here is the response from one person:

"calm down......

that photo shows nothing else but the static test Buran OK-KS. its only a "mock-up" which was used for complex electronic and electric tests and mock-up duties. its stil burried in the energia factory at korolev and can be visited there... all five "buran" type shuttles which were capable of orbital flights are either destroyed, dismanteled or placed on a wasteyard."

Here is the original thread: http://orbit.m6.net/v2/read.asp?id=15070