Delay ISS until CEV is ready?

[radarredux]

Random thought, for which I apologize if this has been already discussed to death:<br /><br />Delay the completion of much of ISS for some time after 2015 to reduce the number of shuttle flights and retire the shuttle early. Redirect the money and efforts to (1) quickly developing an SRB and capsule CEV capable of accessing ISS and (2) developing a shuttle derived heavy launch vehicle (HLV). Use the HLV to complete the ISS (as well as for Moon, Mars, and Beyond).<br /><br />Any thoughts?<br /><br />-----------<br />Motivating Points:<br /><br />(1) NASA's new leader is not only familiar with The Planetary Society's report on extending human presence into space, he was a co-team leader on the project.<br />http://planetary.org/aimformars/study-summary.html<br /><br />(2) The Planetary Society's report talked about the need for a heavy lift capability, and it seemed to favor a shuttled derived system.<br /><br />(3) The Planetay Society's report presented a roadmap that would use a capsule design and shuttle SRB to achieve initial manned access to orbit much earlier than the current CEV schedule.<br /><br />(4) A recent NPR story included Griffin saying we may need to become creative in getting ISS components up to the ISS.<br />http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4625287<br /><br />(5) Griffin has mentioned a number of times that the current planned gap for US manned-access to space (and the ISS in particular) (from shuttle retirement to CEV operations) was not politically popular.<br />http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1016<br />http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20050412/sc_space/nasachiefnomineepledg

 

[ve7rkt]

I think there was some comment about the modules & payloads currently meant for the ISS being designed to be lifted in the STS, and adapating them to any other launch vehicle would be somewhat expensive and/or uncertain... doesn't seem too difficult to me to design a payload fairing with attachment points in the same spots as the STS' cargo bay and fly it close enough to the station for the Canadarm 2 to move it to a berthing port, but what do I know?

 

[SpaceKiwi]

I believe you are essentially correct. The ISS partners are now committed to using the Shuttle in construction, and changing to an alternate method would be much more costly in both time and financial terms.<br /><br />Another important thing to consider is that the clock continues to run on the ISS. As each day passes the station gets older and older, and there is only a finite amount of time that ISS will be habitable and serviceable. The longer you drag out the construction phase, the shorter will be the ISS's lifespan in the optimal 'core complete' configuration. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>