Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Vandenburg never to used?
Message-ID: <1988Oct3.173351.8926@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <41680@pyramid.pyramid.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 88 17:33:51 GMT

In article <41680@pyramid.pyramid.com> andy@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Andy Mascsak) writes:
>In recent articles it appears that everyone has written off the Vandenburg
>facility for shuttle launches.
>
>Having lived near there for 28 years, my understanding of the state of the
>facility is that it is fully operational and waiting for a shuttle...

Sorry, no:  it's been mothballed, and is unlikely to be revived.  Congress
finally told the USAF "either make some plans to use that facility, or put
it in mothballs so you aren't spending millions to keep it ready for non-
existent missions".  The USAF, which has never been really keen on the
shuttle, opted for mothballs.  NASA is not happy but didn't have a lot of
say in the matter.

>It is also the only way I know of to get the suttle into a polar orbit.
>That type of orbit definitely has some scientific and military advantages.

Definitely.  In fact, there are people even within the USAF who are unhappy
about not having a polar-orbit shuttle capability.  But they didn't have
the money and clout needed to keep it going.  Anything going into polar
orbit in the foreseeable future is going to get there on an expendable.
-- 
The meek can have the Earth;    |    Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
the rest of us have other plans.|uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu