OT: Shuttle Breaks Up During Re-Entry

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
It was supposed to be a stop-gap while the 'space plane' was developed and NASA has never gotten enough funding to develop that replacement.

When the shuttle was new, Britian was working on an orbital launch vehice that used a hybrid(air breathing when in the atmosphere) engine. It was to be an alternative to the shuttle when it got old. Never heard about that again.

*Sigh* Richard P. Feynman was pretty critical about safety measures on the shuttle program. But seriously, what bailout procedure could possibly exist for Mach 20 at 200,000 feet.

[ February 01, 2003, 15:45: Message edited by: Arkcon ]