After last U.S. shuttle Russia will own space
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Moscow will have a complete monopoly on space for years to come
If the weather permits, and that looks doubtful at the moment, the last space shuttle, Atlantis, will lift off from Cape Canaveral. At the end of that countdown, when the shuttle leaves the launching pad, Russia, not America, will own outer space.
Here’s the story:
After the last US space shuttle flight blasts off tomorrow, Russia will officially have a monopoly on outer space. The 40-year-old Soyuz capsule will be the only vessel capable of reaching the International Space Station, and Russia can charge dearly for rides, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We are not in a very comfortable situation, and when I say uncomfortable, that is a euphemism,” says the director of the European Space Agency. “We made a collective mistake.”
Already, Russia has increased its asking price 175% since George W. Bush announced the end of the shuttle program in 2004—and it’ll rise again later this summer, to $43.4 million per seat. NASA officials are hoping private companies will eventually fill the shuttle gap, but they’re not holding their breath. The companies “will take a little longer to get online than they tell us,” an ISS manager says. “I would not expect to see anybody until late 2016.”
How do you feel about the last mission for America’s space shuttle fleet? Do you want Russia to own space?
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We never even went to the moon. im moving to russia… or africa.
Nonsense.
Americans have sat idle for the past 35 yrs uninterested in manned space flight or any other kind of space program. The American political establishment has ignored space since nobody seemed interested. Forget about being intellectuals and advancing human endeavor.
We have lost our desire to explore. We have lost our desire to have heros who do great things.
We have all become clones who only seek to be entertained by cheap spectacle and feel good now.
This is exactly what America deserves.
I agree. Our stupid culture of science deniers and religiously “guided” leaders have put us in this situation despite the NASA budget amounting to only 1/2 of .01 per dollar. That was too much for the lowbrow majority to “waste” on discovery.
Excellent observation.
I find this shocking beyond description. Is this all about the budget or is it about different exploration?
America shouldn’t let this happen. Ever.