Today we are using short sited thinking of the moment with the Space Shuttle program.
History repeats???
As it stands now NASA is in the process of scrapping The Shuttle program and treating it like trash, much as they did back when the Saturn 5 program was ended.
This technological marvel that took men to the moon.
Wernher von Braun's lifetime goal and work.
I ask you; can we take the Saturn 5 program off the shelf and use it today if we wished to do so? No. At the end of the Saturn Program it was thought to show, or put the already built Saturn 5’s to the public so they might see what was paid for etc. So the rocket displayed in the open. until its 2005 restoration when a structure was built around it for protection.
A complete waste of time and money! Saturn 5’s were displayed outdoors for decades, then in recent years were enclosed for protection from the elements.
The need now continues for a low cost heavy lift rocket. Had the Saturn 5’s been preserved we could have used them.
When the Soviet Union efforts for a Moon rocket failed a very wise engineer hid engines in a warehouse. He thought ahead, and history reveals that is engineering work is now in use with one of the most efficient engines ever built.
The USA would be wise to learn from this but I feel we are going down the same path.
History repeats???
Pay now or pay later...NASA is in the process of scrapping The Shuttle program.
Things are different now and some items might be treated as “historical” and preserved. However I don’t see the elements “in whole” of the program being carefully stored etc. Giving away the program to museums etc is a shame …history repeats.
The US taxpayer spent billions of dollars on the Space shuttle program and now it gets treated like surplus junk. Mock ups and other example items are fine for museum's. Working parts and equipment should be treated just the same if not more of value as the US Air force does with prior generation aircraft. IMHO, we must prepare and preserve the space shuttle program for “future uses” in a bone yard.
Aircraft boneyard is an American term for a storage area for aircraft that are retired service. Most aircraft at boneyards are either kept for storage or turned into scrap metal. Deserts, such as those in the Southwestern United States, are good locations for boneyards since the dry conditions reduce corrosion.
Before planes are put into boneyards, they have to be stripped. Most electronics, munitions, and wiring gets taken off to be recycled or to be kept in warehouses. These may serve as replacement parts for planes that are still flying or may be used for reconditioning if and when the planes are called back into active duty. These parts along with the stripped planes may be sold to other countries.
Depending on the demands of the U.S. Air Force or for commercial purposes, a plane or a whole squadron of them may be put back into active duty.
The Shuttle Program didn’t work out as planned or as cheap to operate.
Today we are using short sited thinking of the moment with the Space Shuttle program. Much of not all the materials should be sent to the bone yard with the hope of someday to put back into active duty.
As it stands now NASA is in the process of scrapping the future again.
History repeats
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