Last Space Shuttle Flight: Textbook Countdown Threatened Only by Weather

"As things stand right now weather is the only thing standing in the way of an otherwise flawless countdown for the last Space Shuttle mission. No technical issues are being tracked except for some air conditioner problems in a building in Houston. In other words, this has been "textbook" thus far from the hardware point of view."

7 July update: As torrential showers descend upon Kennedy Space Center, concerns linger as to whether conditions tomorrow at this time will permit a launch to occur. As has been the case in the past bad weather can suddenly yield a favorable window. At this time NASA seems to be intent upon going ahead with the countdown in case this opportunity arises. If weather forces a scrub odds are that there will be 48 hour delay with an attempt on Sunday. A GPS launch currently has the range reserved between 11-5 July and NASA is looking at ways to possibly get 11 July from them.

America's space program is crashing, opinion, Mark Albrecht, Washington Times

"The conventional wisdom in the federal bureaucracy is that you can reduce spending or you can restructure, reprioritize and reorganize. You can cut programs or start new programs. But you can't do both. Now, our backs are to the wall. To re-establish our leadership in space, we must defy conventional wisdom and cut spending, start new initiatives and radically restructure a mature agency - all at the same time. It won't be pleasant, and it won't be easy, but neither was putting a man on the moon."

NASA's new journeys, opinion, John Holdren and Charles Bolden, Politico

"One misimpression is that the U.S. human spaceflight program is stalled. The truth is quite the opposite. Soon after President Barack Obama took office, an independent commission concluded that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's then-existing plan for the post-Shuttle era was not viable under any feasible budget scenario."

Appropriations Committee Releases the Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations, House Appropriations Committee

"NASA is funded at $16.8 billion in the bill, which is $1.6 billion below last year's level and $1.9 billion below the President's request. This funding includes:

- $3.65 billion for Space Exploration which is $152 million below last year. This includes funding above the request for NASA to meet Congressionally mandated program deadlines for the newly authorized crew vehicle and launch system.

- $4.1 billion for Space Operations which is $1.4 billion below last year's level. The legislation will continue the closeout of the Space Shuttle program for a savings of $1 billion.

- $4.5 billion for NASA Science programs, which is $431 million below last year's level. The bill also terminates funding for the James Webb Space Telescope, which is billions of dollars over budget and plagued by poor management."

Remarks by the President in Twitter Town Hall, The White House

"Question: So a slight deviation from the economy -- we have a lot of questions, and this will be our last before we start reading some responses to your question -- about the space program. And this one from Ron: "Now that the space shuttle is gone, where does America stand in space exploration?"

THE PRESIDENT: We are still a leader in space exploration. But, frankly, I have been pushing NASA to revamp its vision. The shuttle did some extraordinary work in low-orbit experiments, the International Space Station, moving cargo. It was an extraordinary accomplishment and we're very proud of the work that it did. But now what we need is that next technological breakthrough.

We're still using the same models for space travel that we used with the Apollo program 30, 40 years ago. And so what we've said is, rather than keep on doing the same thing, let's invest in basic research around new technologies that can get us places faster, allow human space flight to last longer."

"And what you're seeing now is NASA I think redefining its mission. And we've set a goal to let's ultimately get to Mars. A good pit stop is an asteroid. I haven't actually -- we haven't identified the actual asteroid yet, in case people are wondering. (Laughter.) But the point is, let's start stretching the boundaries so we're not doing the same thing over and over again, but rather let's start thinking about what's the next horizon, what's the next frontier out there.

But in order to do that, we're actually going to need some technological breakthroughs that we don't have yet. And what we can do is for some of this low-orbit stuff, some of the more routine space travel -- obviously no space travel is routine, but it could become more routine over time -- let's allow the private sector to get in so that they can, for example, send these low-Earth orbit vehicles into space and we may be able to achieve a point in time where those of you who are just dying to go into space, you can buy a ticket, and a private carrier can potentially take you up there, while the government focuses on the big breakthroughs that require much larger investments and involve much greater risk."

Keith's note: According to a tweet by Brian Berger at Space News: "House CJS mark also "terminates funding for [JWST] , which is billions of dollars over budget and plagued by poor management".

Atlantis' final launch inspires bittersweet celebration, Orlando Sentinel

"Bittersweet is the exact right word," said Titusville Mayor Jim Tulley, who retired from a career with shuttle contractors Lockheed and United Space Alliance. "For the people being laid off, it's a little more bitter than sweet. We're going to look back at this program with just an incredible sense of pride." But first, it's time to party, with celebrations starting Wednesday evening in downtown Titusville, and running through the day and all night Thursday, right up to Friday's 11:26 a.m. launch."

The empty shells of America's shrinking space industry, Daily Mail

"Soon-to-be-jobless space workers and those who've already lost their jobs are now competing for work in a labour market where more than one in 10 is unemployed. And the Space Coast is still reeling from the housing crisis, making it tougher for workers to sell their homes and move elsewhere for a job. 'Everything is taking a turn for the worst, it seems like,' said Kevin Smith, local president of the union for space centre firefighters, paramedics and workers at emergency landing sites. 'What little is out there, everybody is competing for.'

Space Coast Economic Recovery Will Be Slow, Says Economist Hank Fishkind, WMFE

"The loss of space technology jobs means the loss of very high paid jobs" Fishkind told WMFE, "so it has larger than normal consequences for the area's economy." He said the loss of so many high wage jobs is having a larger multiplier or "ripple" effect across the entire economic landscape. Still, he thinks Brevard County is better prepared now than it was when the Apollo program shut down in the early 1970s.

Behind the scenes of launch preparations: Massive job losses, Houston Chronicle

"Today NASA is down to 5,500 contractor employees and 1,200 civil servants working on the shuttle, said program manager John Shannon. That's a total of 6,700 people who process the shuttle and support it during flight. If the shuttle launches July 8, as expected, another big layoff will come on July 22. At that time NASA will lay off about 3,200 contractors, Shannon said."

Report to Congress on the Solid Rocket Motor Industrial Base Sustainment and Implementation Plan Redacted Version (Excerpt), DoD

"Based on the analysis and findings of the Interagency Task Force, the DoD concludes:

1. The Department must preserve the scientific, engineering and design skills and production capabilities necessary to support both large- and small-SRMs. The DoD cannot allow the SRM industrial base to shut down until DoD determines its next generation requirements because the potential expense and schedule delays of restarting the industry would be too great. The SRM production capabilities are needed to support the MM III through 2030 and the D5 through 2042. ..."

Space shuttle's legacy: Soaring in orbit and costs, AP

"The space shuttle was sold to America as cheap, safe and reliable. It was none of those. It cost $196 billion over 40 years, ended the lives of 14 astronauts and managed to make less than half the flights promised. Yet despite all that, there were some big achievements that weren't promised: major scientific advances, stunning photos of the cosmos, a high-flying vehicle of diplomacy that helped bring Cold War enemies closer, and something to brag about."

This Friday, the Space Shuttle program is scheduled to launch its final flight. But as the shuttle era ends, new space vehicles continue to be developed -- even those that are not so new.