Cleanup of Space Shuttle Launch Zone Chemicals Will Take Decades and Millions of Dollars

Atlantis Launch 1 Clearing the tower John Mahoney

With Shuttle Launches Over, Cleanup of Launch Zone Chemicals Will Take Decades and Millions of Dollars -- Popular Science

With every ending comes a new beginning, as they say — so with the ending of the space shuttle program comes the beginning of a long environmental remediation at NASA’s Florida facilities.

Five decades of spacecraft launches have taken a toll on the sandy soils beneath the Kennedy Space Center, according to a report by Florida Today. Plumes of chemicals will cost $96 million to clean up in the next 30 years, including $6 million this year.

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Job Cuts At The US Space Shuttle Program

NASA Reducing Space Shuttle Workforce From 6,700 to 1,000 -- PC World

The landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the official ending of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program marked a bittersweet moment for the 6,700-some shuttle workers tasked with maintaining the space-faring fleet.

NASA began issuing the first of its layoff notices for approximately 3,200 contract workers Friday, the first in a series of cuts scheduled to occur between now and August. NASA plans to drop down to a shuttle de-servicing staff of around 1,000 workers, which will be tasked with prepping the three main shuttles for their new homes in museums around the country.

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My Comment: Remembering the US shuttle program.

10 Ways Shuttle Tech Can Now Be Found Right Here On Earth

The Space Shuttle Cockpit NASA, via Wikimedia Commons

Ten Tech Innovations From NASA's Space Shuttle That Trickled Down to Non-Astronauts -- Popular Science

Tech designed for the space shuttle program have permeated just about every aspect of our lives. Here are ten you may not know about.

Your life is full of what NASA calls "spinoffs": ideas or products initially designed for NASA's particular (and particularly challenging) uses, but which trickled down to become commercial products. Of course, you may not recognize these items--there's no "made for NASA" sticker, and many of the iconic NASA products (Tang, Teflon, Velcro) weren't actually designed for or by NASA at all. But NASA-developed stuff is everywhere, from insulation to infant formula, from prostheses to fishing nets. Here are ten of our favorites that originated in the Shuttle program--the very program that just saw its last launch ever.

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My Comment: Only 10?

Endeavour's Mind-Boggling Cockpit Controls

(Click on Image to Enlarge)
Cluttered cockpit: Commander Mark Kelly and Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori sit on Endeavour's flight deck during what was the Nasa vessel's final mission

So, Where's The Ignition Switch? Endeavour's Mind-Boggling Cockpit Controls Revealed In All Their Glory -- The Daily Mail

Nasa shuttle is now bound for the California Space Center museum in Los Angeles

With hundreds of switches and buttons, and pieces of paper stuck to various hard surfaces, this is the somewhat chaotic cockpit of space shuttle Endeavour.

Commander Mark Kelly and Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori sit on the flight deck during what was the Nasa vessel's final mission.

With equipment strapped in place all around them, including a device taped to the back of a seat, the pair are jammed into their seats at the controls of the $2.2billion ship.

The cockpit is so crammed full of electronics, the astronauts are unable to stand when they climb in and out of their seats.

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Endeavour Returns Home For The Final Time (Video)

As Endeavour Returns Home For the Final Time, Atlantis Prepares for the Last Shuttle Launch Ever -- Popular Science

Sailing through the midnight sky to a picture-perfect landing in Florida, the country’s youngest spaceship came home for the last time Wednesday, leaving a completed space station in its wake. On a 16-day mission, the crew of space shuttle Endeavour installed a massive physics experiment and put the finishing touches on the ISS, completing the last scheduled spacewalks by shuttle crew members.

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Endeavour Cleared After Heat Shield Inspection

Photo: The space shuttle Endeavour conducts a flip maneuver to allow inspection of its heat shield tiles, prior to docking at the International Space Station.

From CBS News:

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - After a close-up, focused inspection of a damaged heat shield tile on the belly of space shuttle Endeavour, NASA analysts have concluded that there is no threat posed to the orbiter, and NASA's Mission Management Team cleared the ship for re-entry as-is.

"So all good results all the way around," said MMT Chairman LeRoy Cain. "We're essentially clearing the vehicle for re-entry at this point. There were no dissenting opinions, no alternate opinions; the entire team was pretty much on board with the assessments that were done."

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Does Anyone Want A Pre-Owned Shuttle?

The space shuttle Discovery on its 39th and final flight. NASA/Getty Images

Who Wants A Pre-Owned Shuttle? Everyone. -- New York Times

Condition: 27 years old, 150 million miles traveled, somewhat dinged but well maintained.

Price: $0.

Dealer preparation and destination charges: $28.8 million.

So, does anyone want to buy a used space shuttle?

Yes, it turns out. This old vehicle — the space shuttle Discovery — is an object of fervent desire for museums around of the country, which would love to add it or one of its mates, the Endeavour and the Atlantis, to their collections. (Financing terms can be arranged with NASA.)

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My Comment: It is an impressive piece of technology with an incredible history. It should not be a surprise that everyone now wants it.

Space Shuttles To Be Used By The Private Sector?

Endeavour Rolls Out Space Shuttle Endeavour rolls to the launch pad at dawn a year ago for STS-130, which delivered the Tranquility node to the International Space Station. NASA is considering keeping Endeavour flight-ready after its last flight this April. NASA

After Retiring from Government Service, Space Shuttles May Be Sold For Flights In Private Sector -- Popular Science

NASA contractor suggests private spaceflights starting in 2013.

A NASA contractor wants to go all Brett Favre on America’s space shuttles, pulling them out of retirement past their prime to keep them going, even if it’s to play for the other side.

United Space Alliance, which manages the shuttle program for NASA, wants to spend $1.5 billion annually to fly two missions a year from 2013 to 2017, using Endeavour and Atlantis. It would bridge the gap between the end of the shuttle program and the start of privately run space taxis, and help prevent American reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

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My Comment: I do not know about this. The shuttles are fast approaching their lifetime .... flying them will probably not be safe.

Space Shuttle Discovery: Launch Delayed To Nov. 30

From ABC News:

Final Flight for Discovery but Ship 'Not Going Out Easy'.

If the space shuttle Discovery had launched on schedule, she would now be in orbit, docked with the International Space Station, her six astronauts joining the six currently on board the station to unload 22,000 earth pounds of equipment.

But as has often happened in 30 years of shuttle flights, Discovery still sits on launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center here in Florida, waiting as mission managers worked their way through a minor helium leak, a minor electrical problem and Florida's famously unpreditable weather.

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