NASA offers early target date for spaceship (AP/CNN) {replace STS}

[eppur_se_muova]

Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Posted: 9:58 a.m. EDT (13:58 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new spaceship could be ready to replace the nation's aging shuttle fleet by 2011 -- three years ahead of schedule -- if lawmakers added money to NASA's proposed budget, the head of the space agency told a congressional panel on Tuesday.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said that date is the earliest the new spaceship, or crew exploration vehicle, or CEV, could be developed no matter how much money the agency received.

Currently, the target date for building a new vehicle is 2014.

With his pitch to Congress, Griffin underscored a point he has made previously about completing the spaceship on a faster time frame.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/04/26/nasa.budget.ap/index.html

[SmileyBoy]

1. That old space shuttle should've been scrapped years ago.

It's completely obsolete. Here's to hoping Congress will add money to its budget.

[Solon]

2. Should have kept to the original design...

It was slightly simpler and cheaper, but the Military had to get a hold of it, and they, being the paragons of effeciency :sarcasm:, made the damn thing look like it was designed by bureaucrats, which it was.

[benburch]

3. They needed that huge payload bay to lift weapons.

This was the Cold War still.

They wanted to be able to use it to deploy on-orbit nuclear weapons and missile interceptors.

[Zachstar]

5. Polar Orbits

Ya it was designed to go into polar orbit to deploy large recon sats.

Never got to do that tho.

[Ready4Change]

4. Dear NASA: Don't hold your breath.

Emperor Bush gave you an order, which you must obey. However, he has no intention of funding that order. Which you must still obey.

Now, get to work.