On 2012.09.23 18:36 , NM5K wrote:

BTW, I think it's a damned shame none of those shuttle got to stay
at JSC..

I found that odd myself.

I think it was a mistake to retire the things before we had something
up and running to replace it. Depending on other countries to bus
us back and forth to the ISS rubs me the wrong way.

The US is more interested in spending trillions on wars than billions on
manned space flight. There's that debt thing too.

Space-X's first contracted cargo delivery is next month having proven
able to do the mission last spring.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/09...-crs-iss-nasa/

It's a brave new world and the Russians offer reliable transport at a
reasonable price. That gives the US time to develop some great technology.

Not to mention, having the shuttle could come in very handy if there
were ever a major emergency on that thing.

At any given time, shuttles on the ground could be months away from
ready to launch due to mission fitting, waiting on parts and so on.

So similar from the Ruskies has about the same delay.

The ISS has "safe zones" where the occupants can go when under threat or
during an emergency. They are stocked with food, water and air. It's
used whenever an object (debris) approaches the space station.


--
"There were, unfortunately, no great principles on which parties
were divided – politics became a mere struggle for office."
-Sir John A. Macdonald