It's still the end of an era.
And here's what really makes it bittersweet. The shuttle was supposed to make space travel cheap and easy compared to previous efforts.
With the upcoming Endeavor mission, we will have had 134 shuttle flights, from six craft. That's an average of barely more than 22 per ship.
Twenty-two missions. For how many billions of dollars each?
At this point the construction of the ship has become a rather small part of the per-mission cost. Which is kind of the point, I'll admit, of the program. But until we can reduce the other costs to a manageable level, space travel will remain an extravagance. I wish all good fortune to the groups planning private space programs... and continue to hold out hope for the future.
For this adventure never will be finished
We'll make up for the spine the others lack
Take it money, lives, or pain,
What we once won we will reclaim
We're goin' back, I swear to God,
We're goin' back!
-- Duane Elms, We're Going Back
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
And here's what really makes it bittersweet. The shuttle was supposed to make space travel cheap and easy compared to previous efforts.
With the upcoming Endeavor mission, we will have had 134 shuttle flights, from six craft. That's an average of barely more than 22 per ship.
Twenty-two missions. For how many billions of dollars each?
At this point the construction of the ship has become a rather small part of the per-mission cost. Which is kind of the point, I'll admit, of the program. But until we can reduce the other costs to a manageable level, space travel will remain an extravagance. I wish all good fortune to the groups planning private space programs... and continue to hold out hope for the future.
For this adventure never will be finished
We'll make up for the spine the others lack
Take it money, lives, or pain,
What we once won we will reclaim
We're goin' back, I swear to God,
We're goin' back!
-- Duane Elms, We're Going Back
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.