After 30 years America’s Space Transportation System or Space Shuttle will be coming to a close. If everything goes as planned, on July 8th, 2011 Space Shuttle Atlantis will lift off from launch pad 39/A one last time signaling an end to an era.

Some people are upset by the change. How could NASA let this happen? How will we send astronauts to our $100 billion dollar space station? We should keep flying the shuttle until we have a replacement! Each space shuttle was designed for 100 flights, after all! We’ve only had less than 1/2 of that per vehicle. Heck, Atlantis will have only flown 33 times by the time we retire the vehicle. That leaves 67 more flights by design.

Others feel the shuttle retirement is long overdue. While it is true that each orbiter was designed to fly 100 missions, it was also designed to fly around 25 times per year. Originally the shuttle program was supposed to have over 100 flights per year with a fleet of 4 vehicles making space much more accessible and inexpensive in the process. That means that the shelf life of a space shuttle is really only around 4 to 5 years, not the 25 that we have been running them at. Because of that some parts are no longer available. Some elements of each orbiter are old and need replacing. It’s time to let them retire before we have another catastrophic accident.

As we watch NASA gear up for the final flight, it is hard to not want to keep the status quo. To keep the orbiters flying. Change is always hard. But the cold harsh reality of the situation is that while the Space Shuttle is beautiful, majestic and an awe of engineering it also never lived up to its promise of inexpensive flight to space. Humanity and more specifically America has been locked to Low Earth Orbit due in no small part because of the space shuttle. Funding required to send humans back to the moon, on to Mars and beyond is tied up in this amazing yet inefficient vehicle.

I’ll be sad to see the fleet retire. Heck, I grew up with the space shuttle. Born in 1978 I never knew Apollo or even saw humans set foot on the moon. And at this stage, over 1/2 the planet shares that experience. It is time to change that. I want to be a part of a generation that doesn’t accept Low Earth Orbit as good enough. I want to be part of a generation that goes out there and conquers space flight to other alien bodies in the sky. I want to explore the moon again. I want to go Mars. I want to go beyond! The shuttle can’t do any of that.

The question now is not if we should retire the shuttle. That is all but set in stone. The parts required to fly the orbiter are no longer available, we simply can’t easily fly it again. Now the question is where do we go from here? This is the tipping point. This is the moment in time where we get to decide our future. Will we pony up and fund amazing projects coming out of SpaceX, Blue Origin, Orbital, Masten Space, Armadillo and other innovative space companies? Or will we return to the status quo and have our elected officials try to force NASA to build yet another unsustainable rocket designed by senators rather than scientists.

This is the point were we can choose positive yet difficult change, or we can choose to go back to Low Earth Orbit and leave the exploration to another generation. I choose change. How about you?

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

After the break we take a look at the upcoming final flight of the space shuttle. Where you can watch it, how you should watch it and what to do before and after the shuttle flight.

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

Speaking of NewSpace, Virgin Galactic is looking beyond sub-orbital tourist flights to LEO and even uber short trips between continents. Beyond just awesome space trips, it is possible that Virgin Galactic will change how we fly and make the world an even smaller place.

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

“NASA | ART” opened Oct. 25 at the Art League of Bonita Springs in Bonita Springs, Fla. The exhibition remained there until Jan. 19, 2009, then travel to 10 other museums through 2011. The show was put together by NASA and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, in cooperation with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Exhibition descriptions and tour schedules are available at: http://www.sites.si.edu

The video above includes the full 13 minute Art Exhibit walkthrough for epic subscribers. If you would like to see the 6 minute public video, you may do so below:

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

We may spend a lot of time talking about the larger NewSpace companies such as SpaceX, but in this episode we look at a couple of the smaller entities that are doing some amazing things with next to zero budget.

NASA has returned some beautiful videos of the shuttle attached to the ISS while ESA wants to make sure we don’t go stir crazy during our ride to Mars.

All that, a bit of Spacevidcast crazy and your questions answered on this Jun 10th, 2011 edition of Spacevidcast Live.

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]

This week the Space Task Force includes:

• Tim Bailey (@tim846)
• Mike Doornbos (@mrdoornbos) Founder of Evadot.com

Topics we cover:

• Is NASA gambling the future of space exploration on unproven commercial companies? A recap of the Forbes article blasting SpaceX.
• Small satellites will be launched from F-104 jets using missile-like small rockets.  Is this the cubesat launcher of the future?
• Mike gets on a soapbox: tell the story in first person!  Too much information is technical & informational instead of an engaging story.
• We talk about Stephen Hawking’s Zero Gravity flight and how awesome Hawking is in general.
• What happened to the Rocket Racing League? Is their iPad app worth the price?
• And more!

For more information and details on upcoming podcasts, visit the Space Task Force wiki page!

[ This news article was originally published on Spacevidcast.com. To read the original version of this article in full Click Here. ]