Reply #11: The space shuttle should have been replaced years ago [View All]

The space shuttle was a very impressive machine, but it was really a technological failure. Don't take this the wrong way, I love NASA and actually worked there for a bit, but if you ask any space engineer they will say that it was always impractical. It should have been replaced in the late 90s. Think about how safe your cars were in the mid 70s compared to now, and that is the same era of technology. The shuttle was always way too expensive and complex for the task it did. We need the "big dumb rocket" technology that is being developed by companies like Space X now. Kerosene and liquid oxygen has worked great for the Russians as fuel, and it is cheap and easy to handle.