Endeavour launches, and Bolden on “the future of human spaceflight”
Delayed by the weather on Sunday, the Space Shuttle Endeavour successfully launched this morning on the final scheduled night flight of the soon to be retired Nasa shuttles. Mission STS-130 will deliver a third connecting module – the Tranquility node – to the International Space Station as well as “a room with a view”. And possibly some decking… The BBC’s Spaceman blog has more on the cupola, and provides a post, with video links, of “Nasa chief Charlie Bolden holding forth on the future of human spaceflight.” Endeavour launch video from NASAtelevision.
I preferred DS9
I’ve got a sinking feeling that Bolden is whistling in the dark. NASA is not going to have any human lift capability for quite a few years and I don’t see private industry having the wherewithall to come to the rescue. All that they are proposing is sub-orbital thrill rides for the very rich.
Alas it doesn’t bode well for the ISS either unless there is a huge increase in the number of Soyuz flights to get a large number of scientists up there to do research. Virtually all that the crews have been able to manage up there since the start is routine maintenance.
Thanks again, Pete.
I wonder how the conspiracists will construe President Obama’s treatment of NASA.