Thread: Goodbye Atlantis.

Originally Posted by shoi

i'm waiting for them to announce they plan on making a real life EVE

+1

Originally Posted by Methuselah

we saw the launch. Honestly I think the moon is actually a death star

Where do you think the "Asteroid Belt" came from? Alderaan anyone? Anyone?

Well Wile the next shuttle launch is set for Sept 16 I'll be there for sure. The Atlantis went off right on the tick of 2:20 the shockwave came across tha Banana River and hit me in the chest............ it gives ya goose bumps ! Let me know if you plan on being here and I'll let you know where to go to see it unless you go to the Space Center itself.
To me it just seems a shame that we put up so much money for the ISS and now we're gonna have to call a $50 million Cab to get there !
To Consultant alot more than Velcro came out of the Space Program............ had to say it

I agree with the "step backwards" until we realize we were using 30 year old technology. I don't think we have taken many steps in decades when it comes to space travel.

Originally Posted by Methuselah

haha exactly. But seriously... http://www.aliensonthemoon.com/

I don't know why but this came back into my mind when I looked at that site:

~We're whalers of the moon
We carry a harpoon
But there ain't no whales
So we tell tall tales
And sing our whaling tune~


In all seriousness I hope something changes drastically in our space program. We should be investing a lot more into it.

Originally Posted by Consultant

Time to go...$174 Billion spent. And we got Velcro.

Awesome.

I have to say that is trivialising what we have gained from or space program. We gained much more than velcro. You wouldnt have your cell phone if it wasnt for the space program and thats just the tip of what has come out of it. Not to worry though.


http://www.wesh.com/news/23197396/detail.html

Air Force To Test Launch New Space Shuttle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --
Just when the United States is about to retire its space shuttles, the Air Force has built a new one.

The new shuttle is a project that has been kept quiet, but it’s about to make a lot of noise when it launches from Cape Canaveral on Thursday.

The new shuttle cannot carry astronauts, and it doesn’t have a name, such as Atlantis or Discovery. It’s known only as the Orbital Test Vehicle or X-37.

The Air Force has quietly practiced landing it on a remote lake bed in the California desert, but now it is time to launch it.




The X-37 launches vertically atop an Atlas rocket inside its nose cone. It’s now at Launch Pad 41 ready for launch on Thursday at 7:52 p.m. EDT.

The X-37 was originally a NASA project, intended to launch inside the original space shuttles, and was supposed to lead to advanced versions that could carry astronauts.

But government officials said they decided not to go through with it as a NASA project, and it was handed over to the Air Force, which will use it for research in space and possibly for classified purposes.

When the original space shuttles are retired later this year, the U.S. will have no way to launch its own astronauts.

At a glance, the X-37 may look like it could pick up where the old space shuttles leave off. But, in fact, it could take years of major modifications to give the X-37 the capability to carry a crew.

The Air Force is not discussing the subject, and it is not saying when the X-37 will land after its first launch.

Thats not even the other one that i know about. I tried to find an article on that one without any luck but if i find it i will post it. It is still being built and has a lazer weapon system on it with a dual heiie bomb sight. The laser system was built in orlando which is why i know of it. According to tests it should be able to hit a target from orbit within 5 ft.