A political challenge !!

Commercial Space Shuttle Revival and Privatization

There has been an extensive undertaking to reduce the cost of expendable launch vehicles but their launch costs are still too high. There has NEVER been any determined effort to reduce the cost of space shuttle operations. It is not too late to revive the space shuttle fleet. The shuttle orbiter airframes Atlantis at KSC and Discovery at the Smithsonian can be retrofitted to commercial configuration until new orbiters can be built.   Competitive Commercial Space Shuttle (CSS) launch cost can be achieved by:

·        Use the existing Orbiter airframes and install modular quick replaceable subsystems.

·        Removing onboard piloting functions to allow unmanned mission operations.

·        Removing all civil service launch operations support.

·        Consolidation of launch and mission operations at the launch site.

·        Automation of ground and flight operations.

·        Shuttle assembly at launch pad.

·        Eliminates cost plus fixed price contracts.

·        Establishing international launch operation cooperation.

 

Reducing commercial space shuttle launch cost is not a technical challenge…it is a political challenge.

 

The following chart shows the breakdown where significant cost reductions can be achieved by privatization of the space shuttle operations:

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