Effort to keep shuttle failed--Imagine that! American: Wake Up

← Young and Crippen say shuttle should keep flying
Effort to keep shuttle failed–Imagine that! America: Wake up!
Posted on December 20, 2011 by Bob
Editor note—since NASA reallocated resources, does not appear the cooperative effort was sincere. This adm does not want the shuttle flying—it is as simple as that. Americans: better wake up.!!!
 
Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle’s SciGuy
 
Even as NASA retired the shuttles this summer a last-ditch, private effort to keep the vehicles flying was afoot.
 
NASASpaceflight.com had the story Monday morning:
 

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/12/next-gen-shuttle-vehicle-secret-effort-save-orbiters-ends/

 
The plan – held under an agreed embargo by this site’s editor, so as not to damage negotiations – involved billions of dollars of private investment being pumped back into shuttle operations, saving Atlantis and Endeavour to return to flight operations no earlier than the end of 2014.
 
The approach was purely commercial, and required no government funding.
 
Over time the concept developed toward a full “go forward” plan, based around a return to flight operations returning at a gradually increasing pace, notably wiping out the majority of the US domestic launch capability gap, before hitting the pace of four flights per year in 2017.
 
Based on “available demand” – details of which are proprietary – it was anticipated one flight would have taken place at the end of 2014, then two in 2015, three in 2016, and four a year beginning in 2017.
 
At the end of the day what killed the plan was the fact that too many of NASA’s resources needed to fly the shuttle had been re-allocated for use by other programs.
 
One of the principal investors in the private plan, Kevin Holleran, told the web site:
 
“A group of space interested investors and technical and operational experts have been working quietly in the background with NASA and major Shuttle suppliers to look at the feasibility of operating the Shuttles commercially. Despite the best efforts of all involved it was simply too late.
 
“Much of the infrastructure has already been disassembled, or repurposed for SLS and opportunity is lost.”
 
Mary Lynne Dittmar, a space policy adviser, was also involved in the process to save one or two of the shuttles from retirement. She give her account of the story here:
 

http://www.marylynnedittmar.com/?p=1303