NASA To Retire Atlantis by 2008

SirBruce writes "As reported by Space.com, Spaceflight Now, and elsewhere, NASA is now planning to retire the Space Shuttle Atlantis by 2008, after just 5 more flghts. By doing so, they would avoid a costly and time consuming scheduled overhaul, and could still fly the remaining 12 missions (17 total) with Discovery and Endeavour, which are just now completing their ODMPs (orbiter maintenance down period). Atlantis would be kept for spare parts to keep Discovery and Endeavour flying until the shuttle program is shut down in 2010."

I smell a movie

[Dekortage]

So when Discovery and Endeavor are mysteriously trapped in space and/or unable to respond to a global space-related emergency, an astronaut crew will be pulled from retirement (or useless promotion) to pilot Atlantis to the rescue! (...and possibly destroy it/themselves in the process of saving the world)

Mark my words: it will be on television if not in the movie theatres.

I can see the SpaceShuttleTrader ad now:

[IainMH]

Space Shuttle, 89,908,732* miles on the clock. Spares or repairs.

Phone: [phone]

* [wikipedia.org]

And then...

[Ariane 6]

...we can finally replace 'Enterprise' with a space-going vehicle in the air and space museum!

comments from Atlantis staff

[sammy baby]

Doctor Weir, Atlantis' director, and Lieutenant Colonel Shepard, ranking military officer assigned to the project, were unreachable for comment. Doctor McKay, on the other hand, griped for several minutes without a pause about the "typically boneheaded" move, stopping only to eat an energy bar and mumbling something about low blood sugar.

ODMP

[EVil Lawyer]

Why is the acronym for Orbiter Maintenance Down Period "ODMP" and not "OMDP"? Does it have something to do with there being less gravity in space?

Re:Old rule.

[PFI_Optix]

Donate it to MIT. They'll find out if it will run Linux.

You know you want to know.

Re:comments from Atlantis staff

[Anonymous Coward]

The Man [imdb.com] was not available for comment

Re:So what will they use to launch kids into space

[Kenshin]

My girlfriend claims anti-gravity rooms exist because "They used one to film that movie!"

I keep trying to tell her they don't exist, and she keeps saying I'm wrong. (She also didn't know what Chernobyl was...)

Bad idea!

[MS_Word]

We can't abandon atlantis while the wraith are still a threat!

Re:ODMP

[Anonymous Coward]

There are other Orbiter Down causes...they are grouped in OD accronyms..could be represented as OD-MP...since it is akward to pronounce this way - often stated as Orbiter Maintenance Down Period. Others in the series:

ODLOF - Orbiter Down - Lack of Funding
ODTGGER - Orbiter Down - Theoritical Green House Gas Effect Related
ODJDFLF - OD - Just Don't Feel Like Flying
ODTSMSF - OD - Top Secret Military Shuttle Flying
ODAAD - OD - All Astronauts Drunk

and my favorite...

ODTCFETFE - OD - Too Complex For Evolution To Fully Explain

Already getting rid of Atlantis?

[77Punker]

I really can't believe they're getting rid of Atlantis when there's older ones still going. Just look at SG-1!

Yes, I know. Don't bother telling me.

Re:Old rule.

[cashman73]

Imagine what a beowulf custer of shuttles would,. . . oh, never mind!

Ancients outraged.

[EnderWigginsXenocide]

With the announcement of the pending retirement of Atlantis the Ancients have filed a formal complaint. When interviewed the Atlantian spokesperson is quoted as saying "Silly bastards they don't need to retire Atlantis. Get three fully charged ZPMs and Atlantis will be spaceworthy again." When we contacted the facility manager at the Airforce facility at Cheyeane Mountain CO the existance of Atlantis (and stargates, Goual'd, Asgard, whatever they are) was explained as being the result of "people [are] spending too much time watching tv. Particularly that Wormhole Extreme crap."

No, I rather doubt it...

[suitepotato]

NASA To Retire Atlantis by 2008

I think Sci-Fi will keep it at least to 2009 or 2010.