How exactly does the space shuttle suck?
It costs around $500m per launch (which is quite high relative to other launch systems), and can only reach LEO. and it's not even good at reaching LEO - per kilogram of cargo it's much, much more expensive than any other launch vehicle. It's also much more dangerous than a traditional rocket. It's old technology, designed in the 70's (?). It's caused NASA to stagnate in many respects. Had we kept using the Saturn V rocket, we could have done 6 missions, 2 of those to the moon, per year on the same budget as the space shuttle (and by the way, a Saturn V can lift much more cargo to orbit than the shuttle). The original concept might have been good, but the final product hasn't performed well at all. It's good to see it retired.
