Re:Don't Mourn the Space Shuttle. Privatize Interstellar Exp...
by iwwr on Thursday April 19, 2012 @05:39AM
(#3862136)
Consider that the same money could have paid several times over for a Mars Direct style program and permanent stay on Mars. The key to Mars (as opposed to the Moon) is being able to make your fuel from the Martian atmosphere, with an input of (solar?) power and some materials brought from Earth (5-25% of total mass). That means vastly cheaper upper stage, allowing for a for a continuous presence for a fraction of the Shuttle budget.
More here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDWvsdEYSqg Also, a presentation on Mars Direct http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T52-Qu78TjQ&feature=BFa&#...
For the Shuttle, however, that research occurred in the early 1970s. The $200B that has since been spent flying the shuttle did not constitute ground-breaking research in any respect. It's simply operating a tragically expensive space truck. I'm thrilled to see the back of it, and hope that this will allow NASA to return to its primary mission of doing ground-breaking research, while buying its space truck services far more cheaply on the open market.