Finally Shuttle Mission Completed - Interesting Details Of Last Mission

"The primary goal of Atlantis' flight was to deliver a year's worth of supplies to the station in case NASA's newly hired cargo suppliers, Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital Sciences Corp, encounter delays preparing their new vehicles for flight."

news.yahoo.com...

A year's worth of supplies? That's not normal. I mean, I understand that they are trying to "stock up" incase the newly hired cargo supplies encounter delays, but it sounds strange. Is it possible that the ISS is being used as a ark of sorts for the forecasted calamities on Earth? Maybe astronauts will be stationed there for the next year to monitor and ride out the upcoming storm? It seems odd that NASA would cancel the shuttle program without confidence in their new partners ability to deliver supplies.

Why is every mission so secret? Is National Security the answer to every question?

This and many other details about the mission and what's currently going on at NASA seem very odd. Preparedness videos for the employees, mass layoffs, and the shuttle retiring? What's going on?

It's an interesting point all the money spent on satellites, orbital telescopic equipment. that they are now outsourcing restocking capsules for ISS. the space shuttle mission seems suspect just because it's the last one. I'm sure fixing Hubble is now off the cards too.

very fishy indeed with the solar flare forcasted in 2012, but you would think that the iss would be the first to be hit with solar flares, unless nasa knows something that we dont know.?!?!?

reply to post by bookmandh2

It seems odd that NASA would cancel the shuttle program without confidence in their new partners ability to deliver supplies.

I agree man. It bugs the hell out of me how vague NASA is concerning this and pretty much all other issues.

To me ....something seems way off .... and what the true reasons are behind canning all the shuttles with no real replacement.

I'm sorry but hitching rides with your neighbor down the street is NOT a replacement for the shuttle.

Just sounds like "us" the people are getting screwed out of space exploration and that it's in the hands of governments and military complexes.

I mean ....last year when the Air Force says...oh we are launching a secret space plane (which happens to look a little like the shuttles) don't worry about it.....

.....something is off.

It's more because NASA axed the shuttle before private enterprise has finished building their spacecraft. Would kind of suck for the astronauts on the ISS to run out of food because the replacement craft wasn't finished eh.

"national security" for the "International Space Station"? Does sound like they are up to no good, and not in a Harry Potter sense. Don't know if I would like to be on that death trap when the solar activity picks up, or with all the "space junk" flying around. A years worth of food? All that food will be gone when the space station falls out of the sky.