Quote Originally Posted by QUAGMIRE
The tail cone is put on the rear of the orbiter when it has to be flown back to the Kennedy Space center. It makes the Shuttle more aerodynamic while piggybacking on the 747.

And the shuttle can get wet, It sits on the launch pad 45+ days before launch, But they uslally will avoid all weather disturbances when flying it back on the 747 due to keeping all risks of damage to the orbiter and also the 747 doesnt exactly fly as it can without a big ass shuttle on its back, so they keep it as smooth as possible.

I still think though as stated in the article that the Shuttles will be extended past 2010, because Obama does not like the idea of the United States having to rely on Russia to get us to the Space Station for the next 5 years while the replacement is tested and built. I for one hope they do extend the time line.
????

Why?

The thing is 20 years old now and was based on 20 year old concepts of engineering. Considering that Nasa gets less than 1% of the federal budget I hope that Obama gives them a BIG increase. The last that I saw of the replacement i wasn't nearly as big. The replacement looked more like a "shuttle" to the ISS more than an actual repair delivery exploration vehicle.

If you ask me there will probably be 2 vehicles that NASA will use now. The replacement for shuttling astronauts to and from ISS. and the shuttle will most likely get used for the moon trip. I still don't understand why we are going there and not Mars. Unless the moon is being used as a stepping stone.