Great emotion. The American shuttle landed today at Cape Canaveral, Florida, bringing a thirty year programme of manned flights to an end.
One hundred and thirty-five completed missions. Three hundred and fifty astronauts sent in to space. One hundred and eighty satellites placed in orbit. Five shuttles – Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour – with destinies sometimes marked by tragedy – Challenger, in 1986, and Columbia, in 2003, both disintegrated during flight and fourteen team members were lost. Since 1981, NASA has made children and adults alike dream with their ambitious programme of manned flights, development of new technologies and active participation in the construction of the International Space Station. So it was with a pang of the heart, and many held back tears, that the shuttle Atlantis was welcomed upon its return to Earth this morning, at 05:57 local time, after a final mission of precisely 12 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes and fifty seconds. Captain Chris Ferguson – the crew of this final flight was reduced to four people – didn’t hide his emotions upon his return to Earth. “We hope that all those who have ever worked, watched or admired a space shuttle, were able to experience a small part of the journey with us,” he explained after the traditional, “Mission accomplished, Houston.”
Barry Wilmore, head of operations in the control tower at Cape Canaveral, thanked the crew and the famous shuttle. “We are going to take this opportunity to personally congratulate you Atlantis, along with the thousands of passionate citizens of this nation captivated by space, which created this incredible shuttle, which has inspired millions of people over the course of the last thirty years.” Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, has personally declared his pride in having brought this ultimate symbolic mission, governed by precise routine, to a conclusion. Built in 1984, Atlantis has never failed, travelling 202.67 million kilometres in over 307 days in space and 33 missions. The history of the shuttle runs parallel with that of humanity: the sending of space probes to Venus (Magellan) and Jupiter (Galileo) in the 1980s; participation in the defence programme within the framework of Ronald Reegan’s ‘War of the Stars’ in the final stages of the Cold War; mutual aid with the Russians as part of the Mir-Shuttle programme after the fall of the Soviet Union.
And now?
For budget reasons – referring to an annual operational cost of four billion dollars – is NASA therefore provisionally abandoning the business of orbital transport, to concentrate on new missions? On its official site, the American space agency details its main projects for the future, affirming that they do not mean to relinquish global leadership to their Russian competitors, the Europeans or maybe soon the Indians or Chinese. NASA has announced that they plan to conceive and construct a heavy transport system and a shuttle with a primary objective of sending astronauts to Mars. To do this, they are exploring new technologies, among which is solar-powered propulsion. The International Space Station (ISS) is equally at the centre of these new projects. The site re-iterates the fact that she can accommodate six people, and that the American astronauts will continue to live and work there 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. A part of the American portion of the station has been designated as a national laboratory, and NASA is engaged in using this resource solely for scientific research. Mike Suffredini, head of the American space agency, enthusiastically declared that, “This research will benefit humanity and our planet. Even today we still have no idea of the things we will learn, thanks to the ISS.” In this way the ISS could help advance emerging technologies such as independent refuelling of space vehicles, advanced resuscitation systems and human/robot interfaces. Just one snag for NASA though: they will still have to co-operate with their ‘Russian partner’ to get their astronauts to the ISS, averaging 50 million dollars a time, per person. The American space agency is counting on flights being financed by private enterprises in order to lower to the cost by 2015.
The third point that NASA is paying particular attention to is the large number of scientific missions, including the exploration of a huge asteroid – which has been going on since July 16th last year – with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the history of the Solar System. In August, the spaceship Juno will be analysing Jupiter’s atmosphere. The agency is also targeting a return to the Moon, with a primary objective of studying its gravitational field. The fact remains that in Florida and Houston they are still financially restricted. These are sombre times since Barack Obama’s announcement in early 2010 that the Constellation programme was being abandoned (the programme that was to send Americans to once again set foot on the Moon), and financially hard times as well. Numerous NASA employees are considering leaving the site at Cape Canaveral to join the private companies which have become involved in the space race. In a fascinating article, Romain Clergeat told Paris Match of his latest space-conquering ventures. Richard Branson, who is attempting to revive this technological challenge with Virgin Galactic, had explained the historical significance of NASA’s abandonment of the shuttle programme. He explained that, “At first, transatlantic flight was a pleasure enjoyed by the wealthy, and now it has changed the face of humanity. Today there are millions of passengers travelling around the world. It will be the same for our project. The transport of cheaper satellites will benefit everybody. President Obama recognises this fact. For each shuttle launch NASA spends 1 billion dollars. For this price we have created an entire space enterprise.” If the space story is not yet completed, a new chapter is about to begin.
Source text written by Yannick Vely. See the full French article here: http://www.parismatch.com/Actu-Match/Environnement/Actu/Requiem-pour-la-navette-Atlantis-Nasa-316191/
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