Space Shuttle Thoughts

Discovery has undocked from the International Space Station after everyone got a tour of the space station. It was a good break for the shuttle crew, who voted to rename the shuttle "HMS Bounty" after the spacewalk to rip loose the loose insulation. They are convinced that EVERY shuttle was built by GM on a Friday. (They were built in different states, so whose Lemon Law applies?) There was some reluctance to leave the space station, some folks opting to wait for the next Russian resupply rocket. In fact, the shuttle commander, Eileen Collins, picked up a new nickname - "Phasers on Kill" - because she had to set her phaser on the highest setting to "coax" her crew back to the shuttle, where she found good use for those handcuffs and leg irons thoughtfully provided by NASA.

I have long thought that this shuttle stuff was a huge waste of time and money. Instead of building on Apollo successes and the momentum we gained, NASA (which could stand for "Not Always Swift or Accurate") tried to turn itself into Greyhound Spaceship Company, but without the romance of a long bus ride.

So, we've lost three decades, two crews, and a few billion dollars. Retire 'em, fire 'em, and disband NASA. Start a new agency, finish the space station, and load up for Mars and the Moon (Redux).