"Alan Erskine" wrote in
:

"Mitchell Holman" wrote in message
. 130...
I was a NASA buff back then, following the careers
of all the astronauts and knew every flight. Nowadays
no one can name which shuttle is in orbit, much less
who the crew is............

Mainly because there are now seven crew on every flight and, rather
than two flights per year, there are up to seven flights a year.

Until next year at least; when the last shuttle flight is due -
somewhere around May 2010. That will be a sad day, but the future is
more than bright for spaceflight - with Orion just around the corner
(not the biggest fan of Project Constellation by any means, but....)
and the privateers like SpaceX with their Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy
launch vehicles (due for first flight this year) and their spacecraft
which can carry cargo and people.

It'll be even better than before.





Since the newest shuttle was built in 1983 I can understand
the reluctance of NASA to keep using them.

20th technology being dragged into the 21st century and all
that............