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No. It was kept alive by congressional decree for at least a decade after NASA wanted to wind it down. The explicit reason for this was that parts of the spac
by hedora 2y ago
No. It was kept alive by congressional decree for at least a decade after NASA wanted to wind it down.
The explicit reason for this was that parts of the space shuttle were built in 50 states, and the “economic stimulus” trumped things like science or national security.
- mullingitover 2y agoAnswered my own question. Yes[1]. You're talking about the how of the space shuttle construction but not the why. It was indeed intended for at least some military use, and it was originally intended to be capable of polar orbits and would've launched from Vandenberg. Of course there was major government pork and horse trading to southern states but this was a side effect of the project, not the primary driver. [1] https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/1398/did-the-space-shuttle-have-military-uses https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/1398/did-the-space...