Geez. Sometimes I have a difficult time tracking you, Marcia. Anyway, against my better judgement I'll follow up my post.

I doubt there is much on that Shuttle that has to be done my a person unless it's operating a boom or performing some function outside it. I would bet it could launch, dock and land without onboard human intervention. And I suspect it could be made accessible from the ISS without anyone on board fairly easily.

I was thinking that unmanned operation might make it possible for it to continue to haul material to the ISS long after the things had lost their man-rating. Certainly if the Europeans are building $400 million disposable ferries, one which is essentially free might be attractive. For as long as they lasted.

As far as anything useful coming out of either the Shuttle or ISS, there doesn't seem to be much at all past the Hubble repair missions. Mir answered a lot of questions. And anything else could have been done robotically at a small fraction of the cost and no deaths.

I realize that those making a living from it have a different view.

"Hell has no fury like a vested interest masquerading as a moral imperative."

Arf