--- Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net> wrote: <snip>
1. I had to laugh/snicker/guffaw/deride (even though I was alone) the NASA narrator's comment, made just as the shuttle cleared the launch pad, "...beginning America's new journey to the Moon, Mars and beyond." The ironic thing is that I understand that NOTHING about the shuttle, the ISS, or anything else that NASA is doing right now has any application whatsoever to landing people on the Moon, let alone Mars. Patrick, of course, can correct me if I'm wrong.
I think the reporter is just re-canning the current agency line about where the shuttle is now supposed to fit in the overall program. Under President Bush's 2004 "Vision-for-Space-Exploration" policy paper, which was prepared in response to the Columbia catestrophic failure, - http://www.free-definition.com/Vision-for-Space-Exploration.html http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/55583main_vision_space_exploration2.pdf the shuttle is to be replaced by a multi-purpose Crew Exploration Vehicle to be deployed by 2014- http://www.free-definition.com/Crew-Exploration-Vehicle.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_Exploration_Vehicle which will be used to service the ISS and for "return to the Moon" missions by 2020. The content minimal CEV webpage - called "Project Constellation" is at - http://exploration.nasa.gov/constellation/ There are number of graphic timelines in this document that lay it all out - http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/55583main_vision_space_exploration2.pdf - Canopus56 (Kurt) P.S. - While surfing the NASA site, I came across the following phamplet on common things we use today that were developed as a result of NASA programs. http://exploration.nasa.gov/documents/Benefits1.pdf __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com