Will STS-121 be the final Shuttle Flight

[BReif]

I would like to canvas the people on these boards. What do you think, will STS-121 be the final space shuttle flight?<br /><br />I think that the ET on this mission will show foam loss, and that will be it for the shuttle program. Of course, this is conjecture, but I don't wonder if that does happen that enough will be enough for the folks in Congress and the American people.

 

[baktothemoon]

we'll see. I think it will work fine.

 

[jschaef5]

No. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[jschaef5]

"I think that the ET on this mission will show foam loss"<br /><br />Of course there will be, the name of the game is minimizing the foam loss and keeping the chunks small. NASA thinks they have fixed the PAL, and when a fix for the frost ramp comes they will put that in on the next ET's and once that is fixed they will go on to the next biggest foamloss threat and fix that. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[barrykirk]

I don't think so, but I'll give you my final answer by X-mas 2007.

 

[josh_simonson]

NASA is paying for shuttle related contracts out to 2010, so wether they fly or not the cost is about the same. They'll keep flying despite minor foam issues, though loss of another orbiter would likely see them permanently grounded. It's wasteful to use the few remaining shuttle flights to deliver MPLMs. Supplies can go up by a variety of means, but the shuttle should be reserved for space station components that have no other means of delivery.

 

[mattblack]

Will it be the last? No! Will they get the "full" 16-17 flights by 2010? Doubt it. The weather and typical small, niggling engineering issues will irritate and scratch at the schedule.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I'll be rooting for Nasa to accomplish as much as possible till the CEV is ready. You know, I've recently been transferring all my old videotapes of newsclips about Shuttle and other space issues to DVD for posterity. And the one thing that amazed me was how not that long ago, dozens of Shuttle flights would roar upwards, again and again and again in (apparent) safety for year after year.<br /><br />We can see that again, especially if STS-121 flies safely with no major issues. Let us all remember that except for the PAL ramp shedding, STS-114 could be considered an overwhelming success and a true poke in the eye to the naysayers and critics.<br /><br />GO DISCOVERY!!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p>One Percent of Federal Funding For Space: America <strong><em><u>CAN</u></em></strong> Afford it!!  LEO is a <strong><em>Prison</em></strong> -- It's time for a <em><strong>JAILBREAK</strong></em>!!</p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Foam loss is the expected condition. If another accident were to occur, odds are it will probably be some other reason for its cause.<br /><br />20 years ago and for years after, it was the SRBs since that was what caused the Challenger accident. In fact, it became a tradition for cape workers to applause when the SRBs were jettisoned as though there could be no other problems arising afterwards even though cape workers know better. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>