"Major space policy speech."

Some excerpts copied below from a much longer article.one bit i left out is that it is thought that if 135 does not get the go-ahead and NASA run out of money STS 134 might have to be launched earlier.

lots of articles around the net were the smudgy line of Politics and the wind down of the STS meet.
One thing is a FACT: Congress has approved the 19 Billion Dollar Budget for NASA for the Year 2011.It has NOT approved as of Yet how it will be spent though.Congress has gone into Recess for the Summer.

Another article states all Obama has to do is to do Nothing on a decision for a go ahead for 135 during this recess to effectivly end the programme at 134 for sure.{I think the article called it a Pocket Veto,which i gather is a tactic used in American Politics)
It claims the brain drain and wind down will have reached the point of no return by then.

I can find partially completed External Tanks that could be utilsed for an STS-136,but NO trace at all of Spare Solid Rocket boosters????????
Does anyone Know of some?
I,d be interested also to hear what chances do You give the 135&136 at this moment in time???

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Currently processing as STS-335 – the Launch On Need (LON) rescue support for STS-134 – the opportunity to convert what is currently Atlantis’ flight into a full mission remains at the mercy of lawmakers. Should STS-135 become a reality, internal milestones have already noted a desire to target a launch on July 24, 2011.
Such a date would align with Thursday’s launch date decisions for STS-133 and STS-134, whilst bridging part of the gap between the end of shuttle and the operational use of the commercial vehicles – which will attempt to pick up on at least some of the resupply demands of the International Space Station (ISS).
“The thought would be that if we are going to fly it, we would like to fly it next June in order to supply the Station, and maybe give the commercial team a little break,” noted Mr Shannon via a recent Standup report. “We will talk about this more about the cost and what we would actually do on the mission.”
A transition of STS-335 into STS-135 wouldn’t be problematic from a hardware standpoint, with the Solid Rocket Booster set – SRB BI-146 / RSRM 114 – already being processed at KSC’s Rotation Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF), and the refurbishment of External Tank (ET-122) proceeding to plan.
“Diverting resources off of ET-138 (STS-134 – completed) over to ET-122, and have set up a second shift,” noted the latest update from the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) via L2. “Getting heavy into electrical and mechanical work. Have the intertank scaffolding installed, which opens up a lot of work for them.”
However, a decision – and the allocation of funding – is required soon, in order to allow managers to build a mission profile via the baselining process, along with the planning and implementation of crew training (crew loading).

Sources note that a political will exists to fly STS-135, with some activity also noted on looking into the potential for an additional mission in 2012.
STS-136:
STS-136, which would likely be awarded to Endeavour, utilizing a spare tank located at MAF called ET-94, per L2 notes – and recently reported by this site. A loss of upmass would be charged against the mission, given ET-94 is only a Light Weight Tank (LWT), as opposed to the Super Light Weight Tanks (SLWT) that have been used in recent years.
An alternative option of using one of the three part built tanks at MAF holds some potential to support a 2012 mission, providing a long-lead item of certifying the latest version the Thermal Protection System (TPS) foam (BX-265) is removed or advanced – currently noted as a constraint to new tank production/completion prior to 2012.
As seen via the 700+ page final assessment into the Shuttle Derived Heavy Launch Vehicle (SD HLV), three part built tanks exist in New Orleans, with ET-139 in a surprisingly advanced stage of fabrication. While work has ceased on all three tanks, they remain in secure storage, as does all of the required machinery to complete the tanks.
However, the required skill sets of the remaining workforce are being depleted as 2010 progresses, which adds to the requirement of a decision taking place – even on the notional STS-136 flight in two years time – “within months”, in order to keep costs down and additional funding levels viable.
In both the STS-135 and STS-136 scenarios, LON would be provided by two Russian Soyuz vehicles, meaning both missions would not launch with a crew greater than four. Adding STS-136 would likely result in STS-134 and STS-135 slipping to the right to align with the 2012 mission.
With the shuttle shutdown continuing at a pace, and seemingly unchecked – even from a contingency standpoint – by NASA’s current administration, each month that passes achieves their stated goal of ending the shuttle era at the earliest possible convenience, thus removing the viability of any political moves to ‘refine’ President Obama’s highly unpopular FY2011 proposal to the point that it includes a mini shuttle extension.
Such political moves continue to be based around adding STS-135, as noted by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison – who issues a release after the confirmation the shuttle manifest had slipped into 2011.
“I have called on the President to support stretching out the remaining flights, while adding the launch-on-need flight. Moving these existing flights is an important first step in maintaining our capabilities while we assess and plan for the station’s needs and work on a bipartisan compromise on NASA’s future. The Administration must now work with members of Congress to add the launch-on-need flight as an actual shuttle flight as well.”
Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas went a step further, requesting additional missions past STS-135, in order to support the extension of the ISS through 2020.
“NASA should officially add the final launch-on-need mission to the manifest and consider additional missions to fully service and support the extension of the International Space Station through 2020. And we must move forward with a plan for NASA that preserves our highly skilled workforce, supports the development of commercial spaceflight, and utilizes investments we’ve already made to develop a next generation vehicle.”
However, should political discussion fail to turn into political decisions by the fall of this year, it is likely Endeavour’s STS-134 mission will be the final flight of the space shuttle.


Oh and now Eugene Cernan{last man on Moon} who has made no secret of his contempt for the future plans Wants Bolden to go as well!

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2010/07/cernan-calls-on.html

NASA needs the advanced technologies more than they need the Space Shuttle.

lord lucan wrote: »

I'll believe it when i see it. Yes,i'm that cynical!:P

Well believe this,all it takes now is for Obama to get the finger pen out!:P

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US Senate panel votes to extend space shuttle program

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) July 15, 2010
A key Senate panel approved Thursday a 2011 budget proposal for the US space agency NASA that would extend the space program in a compromise from the Obama administration's demands.

Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously approved the legislation, after months of debate and criticism.
The powerful Senate Budget Committee must still approve the bill before sending it to the full chamber for a vote.
Although the plan maintains the White House's 19-billion-dollar request for NASA funding for the fiscal year that begins on October 1, it adds another shuttle mission in 2011 to the two already scheduled for November and February.
The US space shuttles are set to be being retired early next year, after President Barack Obama opted not to fund a successor program, opting instead to encourage private spacecraft development.
NASA will then depend on Russia to fly astronauts to the International Space Station orbiting outpost until a new private or US government spacecraft becomes available.
The Senate committee's bill ordered NASA to begin working on a heavy-lift rocket immediately, rather than in 2015, as proposed by Obama.
"NASA is an agency in transition. We've had to take a clear, hard look at what we want from our space agency in the years and decades to come," Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller, who chairs the Senate panel, said in a statement.
"I've made my views on this matter very clear: NASA's role cannot stay static. It must innovate and move in a new direction."
Senator Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the panel, said the measure "wisely rejects the administration's outright cancellation of NASA's human space flight program, and instead provides a clear path forward for the agency's exploration program."
"I will continue to work diligently with my colleagues to craft and enact a rational plan that maintains American leadership and superiority in space exploration," the Senator for Alabama added in a statement.
Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, a co-sponsor of the bill, stressed that Obama's plans "would have ended the era of US dominance in space exploration, threatened the use of the space station, and jeopardized manned spaceflight."
"This legislation approved today represents a strong balance between the need for investment in new technology and the continued evolution of the commercial market to take an increasing role in supporting our efforts in low Earth orbit," she added.
Senate committee extends shuttle program
Washington (UPI) Jul 15, 2010 - A U. S. Senate committee has voted to extend the space shuttle program for at least a year beyond its scheduled termination, officials said.
The bill co-authored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., would add a third shuttle flight for the summer of 2011, set out a new direction for NASA for the next three years, and would mean continued employment for much of the workforce at the Kennedy Space Center, WOFL-TV, Orlando reported Thursday.
The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the NASA authorization bill by a unanimous vote. The bill will now move up to the full Senate for review, msnbc.com reported.
"NASA is an agency in transition. We've had to take a clear, hard look at what we want from our space agency in the years and decades to come," committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a statement. "I've made my views on this matter very clear: NASA's role cannot stay static. It must innovate and move in a new direction."
Under the bill, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will move forward with heavy lift rocket development for manned deep space flights with a target date of 2016 rather than 2025 as previously planned.
NASA will be directed to begin development immediately on the new generation of rockets to carry future spacecraft and crews into orbit, a move that will bring millions of dollars into the Florida economy, WOFL-TV reported.

So to summarise the drip feed of news that has been coming in,This bi-partisan compromise bill by a Senate Science commitee has to get the nod by a bi-partisan Senate finace committee. The White House has Confirmed that Obama supports these changes to the plan he himself set out at KSC in February.It will then go to a full vote in both houses.The mid term elections take place in November and this bill saves SO many jobs in so many States Who is going to veto this ????????

Confab wrote: »

Eh? Star Wars has been around for 30 years. Laser and missile interception of ICBMs is possible from land, air and space. Nothing new about that.



The Shuttle built the ISS. Progress supplies it. The Shuttle is irrelevant to the ISS now.

Hi Confab i dont really want to argue on the 41st anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11.
ISS will also need regular visits from the ATV and HTV as well as progress just to keep going.
May'be the term Star wars was over-emotive,but reflects My alarm at the escalating use of outer Space for Military Purposes,and the fact that i wish so much that it had never started.!
Below is a picture of one of the two crafts now on test in orbit,It is widely rumoured it carries weapons that would knock out a Countries Spy Satellites before a ground invasion!
No picture of the 2nd one as it is even more classified which is widely rumoured to carry a massive conventional Warhead{for now}that could strike anywhere on the Globe within half an hour of being ordered to.
I stress the word RUMOUR{this post would not be allowed in the Military forum}
{to be balanced,China has already destroyed one of its own Satelites by a killer Satelite of its own,India/Russia is interesred in Military use of Space too,as possibly are the other Space powers}
On the other hand NASA left to its own devices has an ethos of Peaceful exploration of outer Space{although they were forced like it or not to launch some classified Shuttle Missions for the Military}
That ethos is what Augustine/Obama were going to destroy and might now be saved somewhat.



This still sitting on one of the Lunar Lander's Eagle legs since Apollo 11
is in My dreams the attitude to Spaceflight should be!

BULLER wrote: »

Haha, brilliant video. I would hope thats not how Elon Musk runs things, otherwise I wouldnt be so keen for a no vote tomorrow (or should I say today?!) on H.R. 5781!!! (yes on the senate bill!)

Ha HA BULLER.You are a good sport!:)

My always realiable sources:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: tell Me it is the House not the Senate that will suspend normal buisness today/tomorrow to take a vote,so unless the Senate do the same in as far as i can figure American Politics.STILL nothing will be resolved.

Both go on Holidays on AUG 2nd so that pocket Veto by Obama is still on the cards.

Obama has signed an order that work on Constellation continue until ordered to stop.

After the holidays[and the reason for the emergency vote] They will only be concerned about the mid-terms.

This order will continue to keep some people in jobs on a programme that is doomed,and still not a 135 sorted,but no member of the House up for re-election can be blamed on job loss's before November.

It's a case of stay tuned to this channel to see the outcome,but they are not fooling people either for or against an STS-135.

Unless NASA were Lying when they said they needed to know by last June if 135 had a GO,it's not going to happen.
Might be a few tricks left yet,at this stage once again it is NASA who's hands are tied by the short term thinking idiots!:mad:

In all fairness ynotdu if you want a better idea of how politics works in any country just get someone who can draw and dictate this: "Draw two pigs fisting each other." That's about it. :pac:

this does offer a glimmer of hope!:)

<deleted other post due to a bout of sarcasm about how long this process has gone on>