Was the Space Shuttle a Mistake?
space shuttle landing

In an interview on Sept. 27, NASA administrator Michael Griffin said that the space shuttle and the international space station were both mistakes, the wrong path to have chosen.  Why does he think so?  Do you agree?  The point is not whether NASA did a bad job in developing the shuttle but whether the shuttle was the best choice of technology to develop.

Criticism of the space shuttle:

A very important article:
Alex Roland, “The Shuttle: Triumph or Turkey?” Discover (November 1985): 29-49.
Available on e-reserves--you will find the link on the HIST 122 course information page on Blackboard.

NASA's Mea Culpa

An earlier speech by Griffin

A Rocket to Nowhere

Burden Returns as NASA Admits We Were Wrong

Critics Seize on Grounding to Question Shuttle's Future

The Space Shuttle: The Solution that Failed

In Favor of the Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle Benefits

Mike Kahn testimony

How Jim Fulton Saved the Space Shuttle

Future of the Space Shuttle is Linked to the Space Station's

note also that the historical links in the section below will give you the advantages originally expected for the space shuttle


Resources:

bibliography and links on the Shuttle accidents

reactions to the statement

Developing the Space Shuttle

Weighing Costs and Benefits of Human Space Flight

Debate about Shuttle's Future Heats Up