Few space shuttle missions left. Don't expect more.

William Atkins
Friday, 29 January 2010 04:00

Opinion and Analysis

NASA will begin its 2010 launch schedule on February 7th with the liftoff of STS-130 and the space shuttle Endeavour astronauts. The last mission is scheduled for September. Don't expect any more flight even with uncertainty still facing the U.S. manned space program.

Liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour is now set for 4:39 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) for the 13-day mission of STS-130. Only four more Space Transportation System (STS) flights are scheduled for 2010 in order to finish the International Space Station.

Once these flights are flown it is highly unlikely that another space shuttle will ever fly again.

For a summary of the remaining space shuttle flights, please read the 1.20.2010 iTWire article 'NASA's Endeavour prepares to launch for next-to-last time'

All the signs point to STS-133 being the last flight of the space shuttle fleet. Its mission is scheduled for September 16, 2010. Its liftoff may be delayed until later in the year, but don't expect another new mission to follow it to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.

For one thing, the space shuttles are already up for sale, at a much reduced price of $28.8 million for the space shuttle Endeavour and space shuttle Atlantis.

Space shuttle Discovery is already spoken for, and is already dedicated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The space shuttle Enterprise, which was only tested in Earth's atmosphere and has never flown in space, might also be up for auction.

For more details on these super space shuttle sales, please read the 1.18.2010 iTWire article 'For Sale Cheap: Used Space Shuttles.'