B
BReif
Guest
Lately, I have been somewhat pessimistic about the future of space exploration in general, and manned spaceflight in particular. I think it has much to do with the continuing delays of STS-121, and the negative threads and posts that are frequently encountered on these boards these days.<br /><br />My fears are as follows:<br /><br />Shuttle will fly one more time, but after foam sheds from the ET yet again, the shuttle will be grounded permanently.<br /><br />Astronauts will continue to fly to ISS on Soyuz for 2 or 3 more expeditions, but a new Congress/New President will terminate ISS, and no more missions will be flown<br /><br />New President/Congress will terminate all funding and work on the Vision for Space Exploration, canceling the CEV, and all vehicles needed to continue manned spaceflight.<br /><br />Result: No manned spaceflight or manned exploration after 2012.<br /><br />This, then, results in cuts to unmanned programs as well, resulting in no space program by 2020.<br /><br />Please help me get out of this pessimism...