Obsolete Technology

1 September 2003


The Shuttle Must Go -- NASA Report

"Because of the risks inherent in the original design of the Space Shuttle, because that design was based in many aspects on now-obsolete technologies, and because the Shuttle is now an aging system but still developmental in character, it is in the nation's interest to replace the Shuttle as soon as possible as the primary means for transporting humans to and from Earth orbit." Pages 210-11 of the Report by NASA's Columbia Accident Review Board says it best in words the American media and political system will ignore.

This does not excuse NASA's management. The organization's internal culture certainly contributed to the deaths of the seven astronauts on the Columbia, and the seven on Challenger 17 years before. It is a bureaucracy that does not respond as it did in the 1960s because it cannot. Precedents have been set, interests entrenched. It has gone from "Failure is not an option" to "Will I get fired for suggesting this?"

However, Columbia was the first shuttle to orbit Earth, and that was in 1981. At its fiery death in 2003, it was 22; manned space flight was only 20 years old at its birth. A new system is clearly needed.

That said, an engineer's first duty is to find out what function the system will serve. Putting humans into orbit can be done many ways -- the real question is why are they going? The low orbit needs of the International Space Station are different from a Mars shot. If the US is heading back to the moon, a shuttle is not appropriate.

NASA has no answers for this. It is not NASA's job to determine national space policy goals, merely methods. Strategic objectives are the President's to set. The space program is one of the best uses of research money if real research and real science are done. Many are convinced the ISS and shuttle are not doing real science, and therefore, the money is not only wasted but other scientific programs are getting short-changed. This is an opportunity to make the next generation of space exploration and engineering important, vibrant, and useful. Or, NASA will just try gluing the foam insulation onto the Shuttle a bit better. The choice belongs to Mr. Bush.

The full report can be found at www.nasa.gov.

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