The latest shuttle flight hasn't been without its hiccups. But as I write this it looks as if everything is clear for Discovery and her crew to return home on Monday.
Like many, I've been in awe of the shuttle program since the very first Columbia launch. The shuttle is a magnificent space vehicle and much great work has been accomplished as a result of the program. But it has turned out to be more costly than originally expected, costing $1.3 billion (average) per flight--2 orders of magnitude over its original estimates. Furthermore, as evidenced by the Challenger and Columbia accidents, as well as the problems with Discovery's latest flight, the safety of the shuttle has been called into question.
With everyone eyeing Discovery and the future of the space shuttle program, I've found this fascinating article that indicates that future exploration may hinge on a simpler and more traditional design.
In this new program, traditional rockets (Plain-old Rocket Objects or POROs, as I'm referring to them) will be outfitted with some of the best aspects of the shuttle program. Furthermore, the jobs of hauling people and hauling cargo will be decoupled from each other. Thus humans will only need to be involved in flights of exploration and scientific value, while routine transfer of supplies to and waste from the international space station can be done without risking human life. The result is supposed to be a safer and more cost-effective way of exploring space...without the overhead and difficulties encountered by the shuttle program.
This reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what it is... 
