I would have submitted this with a better headline - "US Space Technology 25 Years Out Of Date"
25 years? That thing was antiquated before it made it to the launch pad.
Why does the site start at April 04 Everytime you bring the page up??
This is becoming annoying...
Because everyone knows the vast superiority of the English space program.
Considering the actions and attitude of the current US Goverment, I wouldn't start any UK / US conflict at Madville. Besides, Andy's right, because it's a reusable vehicle, much of the technology (computers, hydraulics, life support, etc.) isn't updated to anywhere near present standards.
And yes, I know , the last thing we sent into space - Beagle 2 Mars probe - disappeared without trace .
I'll consider myself updated. 
I am not starting anything, just getting tired of the US bashing.
No shit, we can do that enough on our own.
It doesnt matter if a new space vehicle was designed today, the computers would be woefully out of date compared to a desktop computer. One of the primary reasons for this is to make sure that the electronics involved are highly resistant to radiation. There's no reason to put a modern computer in space if it is just going to fry on the way to its mission.
Emoticons are always gonna be very limited in their use as a sort of ' emoticon' .
Therefore I only tend to use 'em for fun , or for changing the context of a statement which is what I'm trying to do now - I was just fucking around Elvistilskin , start whatever you want , I'm here to play ! - I was just playing on the whole bush-administration being ignorant murdering scum of the earth type of thing. That is a separate issue to ' US bashing ' - that's just shallow . I met loads of really great Americans in my years of dance school work......................however, they all turned out to be Canadian !
But they were all really funny , creative , intelligent people - there can't be that much difference can there ? 
I see your point and I don't know how NASA protect their computers and other hardware from radiation - but I dont think the Van Allen Belts distinguish from Windows 95 or the very latest NASA Super/Hyper space equipment and software.
They ( Van Allen Belts ) will fry one and all . The on-board computers have to rely on the integrity of the outer shell of the shuttle to protect them and everything else within - An eight year old kid can crush the protective heat tiles with his tiny hands - I'll finish by saying that safety wasn't paramount in the 60's because they didn't know any better and had a lot more to achieve - right now , the budget is way down the list .................. space travel seemed to become a lot less interesting to most folk . Millions of humans will die through starvation in the next few years ................ We could feed them. Spacetravel / People starving to death ? - Where should those resources go ?................... Space exploration is just one faction of the spending of resources on not the most needy - I love space missions and I loathe pointless , disgusting wars . I just can't see a way out sometimes .
This is a site for folks with opinions who want to fire them off ..... yeah ?
I agree, the shuttle program is overpriced and underperforming. But even if the United States cuts its space program and diverts the funds to humanitarian efforts, there will still be millions of humans dying of starvation each year. That is because in a lot of the Third World, hunger is used as a weapon. Just look at Rwanda and Somalia.
You forgot Zimbabwe and The Sudan , governments selectively deny access to food as a weapon there too , a form of repression - I forget about that like most people probably do, or don't realise it in the first place. Like I said, I don't see a way out sometimes .
We seem to be missing the REAL problem with the shuttle: It has been a drain and diversion from development of better hardware and pursuit of more important missions than ferrying satellites. Aside from the repair mission to the Hubble, can anyone think of anything we've been able to do with the shuttle that we could do with other systems ranging from Saturn V to Delta? Has the shuttle been a cost-effective system for anything?
Shiva