Why nasa should be shut down

Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Northrop Grumman. A number of the agency's centers are on mandatory telework, with astronomers, technicians, and engineers working remotely. This content is imported from Twitter.

The shuttle was revealed to be a high-risk, experimental vehicle — something most astronauts had known all along. Still, the space agency took its lashings and made the changes required to get the shuttle flying again. Yet again, the entire crew — this time featuring the highly publicized first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon — was killed.

Although the technical cause of the Columbia disaster was very different than what led to the loss of Challenger , the investigation again found deep cultural problems at NASA. The crew of STS, seen here, had their flight aboard Space Shuttle Columbia delayed 18 times before launching in While reentering Earth's atmosphere, Columbia broke apart, killing the entire crew.

All of these factors — high costs, slow turnaround, few customers, and a vehicle and agency that had major safety problems — combined to make the Bush administration realize it was time for the Space Shuttle Program to retire. In , President Bush gave a speech that outlined the end of the shuttle era, without clearly identifying what would come next or how much it would cost.

This decision left NASA in limbo, as they were suddenly dependent on the Russians for access to space. The remaining three space shuttles, Discovery , Endeavour , and Atlantis , are now museum pieces, as is the test orbiter Enterprise. Having seen some of these vessels in person, I can attest that they still are breathtaking sights to behold. With SpaceX already launching humans into space, and with other commercial space ventures making rapid progress, the future of manned spaceflight under NASA seems unclear.

Receive news, sky-event information, observing tips, and more from Astronomy's weekly email newsletter. View our Privacy Policy. By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. Login or Register Customer Service. RISE —. PHASE —. Tonight's Sky — Change location. An issue with hydraulic systems led to the premature shutdown of a key test for Nasa's new "megarocket". Officials said the way components had been set up to respond in the test was "a little conservative" and that this led to the early stop.

Hydraulics are used to apply force using pressurised fluids. The rocket consists of a core stage, with four RS engines at its base, and two smaller solid rocket boosters SRBs attached to its sides. Later this year, it had been due to launch Nasa's next-generation crew vehicle - Orion - on a loop around the Moon. No astronauts will be aboard for that mission, which is primarily intended to test the hardware.

Nasa is still undecided about whether it will try to re-run the test, or ship the 65m-long vehicle section to Florida's Kennedy Space Center KSC , where it will be prepared for its maiden flight. Despite speculation that the November launch date will slip, officials said the SLS could still make that date. The core stage was anchored to a massive steel structure called the B-2 test stand on the grounds of the Stennis facility.

Some Republican members oppose an increase in the debt limit, required to avoid a government default, that would also be included in the CR.

If Congress does not pass a CR by Oct. Nonessential government activities would stop and federal employees furloughed. Any halt to launch preparations could jeopardize its ability to launch during its three-week window, particularly if it faces other technical or weather delays.