An Uncertain Future

An uncertain future Altogether, space shuttles have orbited Earth 20,873 times After the Apollo program ended in the 1970s, the space shuttle gave us something new to cheer: an all-purpose ship that could fix satellites and build a human outpost in orbit. But the shuttle was never beloved, as it was more delivery truck than vehicle of exploration. As the shuttle era ends, two questions dominate the space program's fuzzy future: Where will we go next, and how will we get there? traveling a total of 537,114,016 miles 30 years of missions Five space shuttles have lifted off on 134 missions since 1981, Columbia disaster and 132 times, they returned. The tragedies of Challenger and Shuttle desintegrated during reentry. Columbia are unforgettable, but most of the time shuttles simply went up, accomplished their tasks and returned. Atlantis is scheduled to begin the shuttle program's 135th and final mission Friday. That mileage equals 2,248 Shuttle's active life trips to the moon KEY O Mission Final flight First flight '95 '96 '97 '98 '94 '99 "00 "93 Bill Clinton '92 *89 '90 '91 George H.W. Bush Challenger disaster ... or Shuttle exploded 5.7 73 seconds times the distance after launch. '88 '87 Agency funding as a percent of federal budget A shrinking piece of the pie from Earth to the sun. In the decades after the peak E 4.2% of the Apollo program, NASA's share of the federal budget has consistently shrunk. Currently, the space agency 4% - Peak of Аpollo program 3 - gets 50 cents for every $100 spent by the U.S. government. 2 - 0.8% 0.5% First shuttle flight Space shuttle program Final flight scheduled '62 '72 '82 '92 '02 '12 for July 8. And now what? Soyuz TMA ATV SpaceX Dragon NASA MPCV After the decommission of the space shuttle fleet, the United States will have no capsule in the near term to transport crews or cargo to the After the final shuttle The European Built by the SpaceX The multi-purpose crew vehicle is NASA's next-generation manned capsule - if it is ever flight, U.S. astronauts will automated transfer company, the Dragon aspires to be the first international space station – let alone a rocket have to hitch a ride on the vehicle can deliver to carry it. Some current and future capsules: 7.3 tons of cargo - private vehicle to deliver astronauts and cargo to the ISS. SpaceX plans a veteran Russian craft to get to the space station. The Soyuz has been in but no people - to the ISS every 17 months. launched, or even built. Space shuttle Its design is not complete, and the first NASA's workhorse for the past three decades service for more than 40 cargo run this year and a manned mission in the is the world's only reusable manned years with few changes in its basic design. mission has been spacecraft ever to reach orbit. next few years. pushed beyond 2016. Builder: Rockwell Int'l. Builder: RSC Energia Builder: ESA Builder: SpaceX Builder: Lockheed Martin First launch: 1981 First launch: 1966 First launch: 2008 First launch: 2010 First launch: unknown Length: 122 feet Length: 24.5 ft Length: 35.1 ft Length: 20.4 ft Length: 26 ft Liftoff mass 1.000 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass 240,000 Ibs. 46,000 Ibs. 46,848 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass Payload bay Designed to transport different types of cargo, this area is also 15.985 Ibs. 26,460 Ibs. Crew Crew Crew: Crew Crew a workspace for retrieving and None repairing space hardware. Sources: NASA, RSC Energia, White House Office of Management and Budget, SpaceX Vehicles shown approximate scale. ALBERTO CUADRA/THE WASHINGTON POST 238,857 miles 93 million miles International space station cons | "03 '04 05 '06 07 '08 '09 '10 11 12 George W. Bush Barack Obama '81 '82 '83 84 85 '86 000 0 ) O Ronald Re • 00. O An uncertain future Altogether, space shuttles have orbited Earth 20,873 times After the Apollo program ended in the 1970s, the space shuttle gave us something new to cheer: an all-purpose ship that could fix satellites and build a human outpost in orbit. But the shuttle was never beloved, as it was more delivery truck than vehicle of exploration. As the shuttle era ends, two questions dominate the space program's fuzzy future: Where will we go next, and how will we get there? traveling a total of 537,114,016 miles 30 years of missions Five space shuttles have lifted off on 134 missions since 1981, Columbia disaster and 132 times, they returned. The tragedies of Challenger and Shuttle desintegrated during reentry. Columbia are unforgettable, but most of the time shuttles simply went up, accomplished their tasks and returned. Atlantis is scheduled to begin the shuttle program's 135th and final mission Friday. That mileage equals 2,248 Shuttle's active life trips to the moon KEY O Mission Final flight First flight '95 '96 '97 '98 '94 '99 "00 "93 Bill Clinton '92 *89 '90 '91 George H.W. Bush Challenger disaster ... or Shuttle exploded 5.7 73 seconds times the distance after launch. '88 '87 Agency funding as a percent of federal budget A shrinking piece of the pie from Earth to the sun. In the decades after the peak E 4.2% of the Apollo program, NASA's share of the federal budget has consistently shrunk. Currently, the space agency 4% - Peak of Аpollo program 3 - gets 50 cents for every $100 spent by the U.S. government. 2 - 0.8% 0.5% First shuttle flight Space shuttle program Final flight scheduled '62 '72 '82 '92 '02 '12 for July 8. And now what? Soyuz TMA ATV SpaceX Dragon NASA MPCV After the decommission of the space shuttle fleet, the United States will have no capsule in the near term to transport crews or cargo to the After the final shuttle The European Built by the SpaceX The multi-purpose crew vehicle is NASA's next-generation manned capsule - if it is ever flight, U.S. astronauts will automated transfer company, the Dragon aspires to be the first international space station – let alone a rocket have to hitch a ride on the vehicle can deliver to carry it. Some current and future capsules: 7.3 tons of cargo - private vehicle to deliver astronauts and cargo to the ISS. SpaceX plans a veteran Russian craft to get to the space station. The Soyuz has been in but no people - to the ISS every 17 months. launched, or even built. Space shuttle Its design is not complete, and the first NASA's workhorse for the past three decades service for more than 40 cargo run this year and a manned mission in the is the world's only reusable manned years with few changes in its basic design. mission has been spacecraft ever to reach orbit. next few years. pushed beyond 2016. Builder: Rockwell Int'l. Builder: RSC Energia Builder: ESA Builder: SpaceX Builder: Lockheed Martin First launch: 1981 First launch: 1966 First launch: 2008 First launch: 2010 First launch: unknown Length: 122 feet Length: 24.5 ft Length: 35.1 ft Length: 20.4 ft Length: 26 ft Liftoff mass 1.000 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass 240,000 Ibs. 46,000 Ibs. 46,848 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass Payload bay Designed to transport different types of cargo, this area is also 15.985 Ibs. 26,460 Ibs. Crew Crew Crew: Crew Crew a workspace for retrieving and None repairing space hardware. Sources: NASA, RSC Energia, White House Office of Management and Budget, SpaceX Vehicles shown approximate scale. ALBERTO CUADRA/THE WASHINGTON POST 238,857 miles 93 million miles International space station cons | "03 '04 05 '06 07 '08 '09 '10 11 12 George W. Bush Barack Obama '81 '82 '83 84 85 '86 000 0 ) O Ronald Re • 00. O An uncertain future Altogether, space shuttles have orbited Earth 20,873 times After the Apollo program ended in the 1970s, the space shuttle gave us something new to cheer: an all-purpose ship that could fix satellites and build a human outpost in orbit. But the shuttle was never beloved, as it was more delivery truck than vehicle of exploration. As the shuttle era ends, two questions dominate the space program's fuzzy future: Where will we go next, and how will we get there? traveling a total of 537,114,016 miles 30 years of missions Five space shuttles have lifted off on 134 missions since 1981, Columbia disaster and 132 times, they returned. The tragedies of Challenger and Shuttle desintegrated during reentry. Columbia are unforgettable, but most of the time shuttles simply went up, accomplished their tasks and returned. Atlantis is scheduled to begin the shuttle program's 135th and final mission Friday. That mileage equals 2,248 Shuttle's active life trips to the moon KEY O Mission Final flight First flight '95 '96 '97 '98 '94 '99 "00 "93 Bill Clinton '92 *89 '90 '91 George H.W. Bush Challenger disaster ... or Shuttle exploded 5.7 73 seconds times the distance after launch. '88 '87 Agency funding as a percent of federal budget A shrinking piece of the pie from Earth to the sun. In the decades after the peak E 4.2% of the Apollo program, NASA's share of the federal budget has consistently shrunk. Currently, the space agency 4% - Peak of Аpollo program 3 - gets 50 cents for every $100 spent by the U.S. government. 2 - 0.8% 0.5% First shuttle flight Space shuttle program Final flight scheduled '62 '72 '82 '92 '02 '12 for July 8. And now what? Soyuz TMA ATV SpaceX Dragon NASA MPCV After the decommission of the space shuttle fleet, the United States will have no capsule in the near term to transport crews or cargo to the After the final shuttle The European Built by the SpaceX The multi-purpose crew vehicle is NASA's next-generation manned capsule - if it is ever flight, U.S. astronauts will automated transfer company, the Dragon aspires to be the first international space station – let alone a rocket have to hitch a ride on the vehicle can deliver to carry it. Some current and future capsules: 7.3 tons of cargo - private vehicle to deliver astronauts and cargo to the ISS. SpaceX plans a veteran Russian craft to get to the space station. The Soyuz has been in but no people - to the ISS every 17 months. launched, or even built. Space shuttle Its design is not complete, and the first NASA's workhorse for the past three decades service for more than 40 cargo run this year and a manned mission in the is the world's only reusable manned years with few changes in its basic design. mission has been spacecraft ever to reach orbit. next few years. pushed beyond 2016. Builder: Rockwell Int'l. Builder: RSC Energia Builder: ESA Builder: SpaceX Builder: Lockheed Martin First launch: 1981 First launch: 1966 First launch: 2008 First launch: 2010 First launch: unknown Length: 122 feet Length: 24.5 ft Length: 35.1 ft Length: 20.4 ft Length: 26 ft Liftoff mass 1.000 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass 240,000 Ibs. 46,000 Ibs. 46,848 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass Payload bay Designed to transport different types of cargo, this area is also 15.985 Ibs. 26,460 Ibs. Crew Crew Crew: Crew Crew a workspace for retrieving and None repairing space hardware. Sources: NASA, RSC Energia, White House Office of Management and Budget, SpaceX Vehicles shown approximate scale. ALBERTO CUADRA/THE WASHINGTON POST 238,857 miles 93 million miles International space station cons | "03 '04 05 '06 07 '08 '09 '10 11 12 George W. Bush Barack Obama '81 '82 '83 84 85 '86 000 0 ) O Ronald Re • 00. O An uncertain future Altogether, space shuttles have orbited Earth 20,873 times After the Apollo program ended in the 1970s, the space shuttle gave us something new to cheer: an all-purpose ship that could fix satellites and build a human outpost in orbit. But the shuttle was never beloved, as it was more delivery truck than vehicle of exploration. As the shuttle era ends, two questions dominate the space program's fuzzy future: Where will we go next, and how will we get there? traveling a total of 537,114,016 miles 30 years of missions Five space shuttles have lifted off on 134 missions since 1981, Columbia disaster and 132 times, they returned. The tragedies of Challenger and Shuttle desintegrated during reentry. Columbia are unforgettable, but most of the time shuttles simply went up, accomplished their tasks and returned. Atlantis is scheduled to begin the shuttle program's 135th and final mission Friday. That mileage equals 2,248 Shuttle's active life trips to the moon KEY O Mission Final flight First flight '95 '96 '97 '98 '94 '99 "00 "93 Bill Clinton '92 *89 '90 '91 George H.W. Bush Challenger disaster ... or Shuttle exploded 5.7 73 seconds times the distance after launch. '88 '87 Agency funding as a percent of federal budget A shrinking piece of the pie from Earth to the sun. In the decades after the peak E 4.2% of the Apollo program, NASA's share of the federal budget has consistently shrunk. Currently, the space agency 4% - Peak of Аpollo program 3 - gets 50 cents for every $100 spent by the U.S. government. 2 - 0.8% 0.5% First shuttle flight Space shuttle program Final flight scheduled '62 '72 '82 '92 '02 '12 for July 8. And now what? Soyuz TMA ATV SpaceX Dragon NASA MPCV After the decommission of the space shuttle fleet, the United States will have no capsule in the near term to transport crews or cargo to the After the final shuttle The European Built by the SpaceX The multi-purpose crew vehicle is NASA's next-generation manned capsule - if it is ever flight, U.S. astronauts will automated transfer company, the Dragon aspires to be the first international space station – let alone a rocket have to hitch a ride on the vehicle can deliver to carry it. Some current and future capsules: 7.3 tons of cargo - private vehicle to deliver astronauts and cargo to the ISS. SpaceX plans a veteran Russian craft to get to the space station. The Soyuz has been in but no people - to the ISS every 17 months. launched, or even built. Space shuttle Its design is not complete, and the first NASA's workhorse for the past three decades service for more than 40 cargo run this year and a manned mission in the is the world's only reusable manned years with few changes in its basic design. mission has been spacecraft ever to reach orbit. next few years. pushed beyond 2016. Builder: Rockwell Int'l. Builder: RSC Energia Builder: ESA Builder: SpaceX Builder: Lockheed Martin First launch: 1981 First launch: 1966 First launch: 2008 First launch: 2010 First launch: unknown Length: 122 feet Length: 24.5 ft Length: 35.1 ft Length: 20.4 ft Length: 26 ft Liftoff mass 1.000 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass 240,000 Ibs. 46,000 Ibs. 46,848 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass Payload bay Designed to transport different types of cargo, this area is also 15.985 Ibs. 26,460 Ibs. Crew Crew Crew: Crew Crew a workspace for retrieving and None repairing space hardware. Sources: NASA, RSC Energia, White House Office of Management and Budget, SpaceX Vehicles shown approximate scale. ALBERTO CUADRA/THE WASHINGTON POST 238,857 miles 93 million miles International space station cons | "03 '04 05 '06 07 '08 '09 '10 11 12 George W. Bush Barack Obama '81 '82 '83 84 85 '86 000 0 ) O Ronald Re • 00. O An uncertain future Altogether, space shuttles have orbited Earth 20,873 times After the Apollo program ended in the 1970s, the space shuttle gave us something new to cheer: an all-purpose ship that could fix satellites and build a human outpost in orbit. But the shuttle was never beloved, as it was more delivery truck than vehicle of exploration. As the shuttle era ends, two questions dominate the space program's fuzzy future: Where will we go next, and how will we get there? traveling a total of 537,114,016 miles 30 years of missions Five space shuttles have lifted off on 134 missions since 1981, Columbia disaster and 132 times, they returned. The tragedies of Challenger and Shuttle desintegrated during reentry. Columbia are unforgettable, but most of the time shuttles simply went up, accomplished their tasks and returned. Atlantis is scheduled to begin the shuttle program's 135th and final mission Friday. That mileage equals 2,248 Shuttle's active life trips to the moon KEY O Mission Final flight First flight '95 '96 '97 '98 '94 '99 "00 "93 Bill Clinton '92 *89 '90 '91 George H.W. Bush Challenger disaster ... or Shuttle exploded 5.7 73 seconds times the distance after launch. '88 '87 Agency funding as a percent of federal budget A shrinking piece of the pie from Earth to the sun. In the decades after the peak E 4.2% of the Apollo program, NASA's share of the federal budget has consistently shrunk. Currently, the space agency 4% - Peak of Аpollo program 3 - gets 50 cents for every $100 spent by the U.S. government. 2 - 0.8% 0.5% First shuttle flight Space shuttle program Final flight scheduled '62 '72 '82 '92 '02 '12 for July 8. And now what? Soyuz TMA ATV SpaceX Dragon NASA MPCV After the decommission of the space shuttle fleet, the United States will have no capsule in the near term to transport crews or cargo to the After the final shuttle The European Built by the SpaceX The multi-purpose crew vehicle is NASA's next-generation manned capsule - if it is ever flight, U.S. astronauts will automated transfer company, the Dragon aspires to be the first international space station – let alone a rocket have to hitch a ride on the vehicle can deliver to carry it. Some current and future capsules: 7.3 tons of cargo - private vehicle to deliver astronauts and cargo to the ISS. SpaceX plans a veteran Russian craft to get to the space station. The Soyuz has been in but no people - to the ISS every 17 months. launched, or even built. Space shuttle Its design is not complete, and the first NASA's workhorse for the past three decades service for more than 40 cargo run this year and a manned mission in the is the world's only reusable manned years with few changes in its basic design. mission has been spacecraft ever to reach orbit. next few years. pushed beyond 2016. Builder: Rockwell Int'l. Builder: RSC Energia Builder: ESA Builder: SpaceX Builder: Lockheed Martin First launch: 1981 First launch: 1966 First launch: 2008 First launch: 2010 First launch: unknown Length: 122 feet Length: 24.5 ft Length: 35.1 ft Length: 20.4 ft Length: 26 ft Liftoff mass 1.000 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass 240,000 Ibs. 46,000 Ibs. 46,848 Ibs. Liftoff mass Liftoff mass Payload bay Designed to transport different types of cargo, this area is also 15.985 Ibs. 26,460 Ibs. Crew Crew Crew: Crew Crew a workspace for retrieving and None repairing space hardware. Sources: NASA, RSC Energia, White House Office of Management and Budget, SpaceX Vehicles shown approximate scale. ALBERTO CUADRA/THE WASHINGTON POST 238,857 miles 93 million miles International space station cons | "03 '04 05 '06 07 '08 '09 '10 11 12 George W. Bush Barack Obama '81 '82 '83 84 85 '86 000 0 ) O Ronald Re • 00. O