Wow! While there will be a few more flights in the near future, the Shuttle Program is ending in 4 years. The three remaining shuttles will become museum pieces, and in its place, will be a bold, sophisticated, new technology taking us to the next level in space travel. Or not.
The shuttle replacement, called the Crew Exploration Vehicle or CEV, is a rocket and capsule system just like Apollo that last flew more than 30 years ago, and just like the Russian Soyuz system that has been operating for the last 30 years. No space plane, no runway landings, no big cargo bay, not a thing to inspire our faith in technology and innovation.
The CEV Above
The Old Apollo Capsule Below
The past that looks like the future: We used to have men on the moon, supersonic transport, space stations large enough to run in, and atomic powered merchant ships.
First man on the moon: 1969. Last Man on the Moon: 1972
Concorde SST - Retired 2003
SkyLab - Abandoned 1979. Interior 22 ft in diamter
NS Savannah - Civilian Nuclear Power Proved Impractical
Today, we have none of that. But I can take picture of a bear in the woods with my telephone. Progress! – What will they think of next?
