Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/April 12, 2021 by Jimfbleak - talk to me?  14:02, 14 March 2021 (UTC)



The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from April 12, 1981 to July 21, 2011 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, five Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles flew on a total of 135 missions during 30 years. They conducted science experiments in orbit, helped build the International Space Station, and launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003 were lost in mission accidents, with a total of fourteen astronauts killed. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of Atlantis's final flight.
 * Most recent similar article(s): March 28, 2021, Manned Orbiting Laboratory
 * Main editors: Balon Greyjoy
 * Promoted: July 10, 2020
 * Reasons for nomination: April 12, 2021 is the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Space Shuttle. This request is to help resolve a pending conflict for TFA July 21.Balon Greyjoy and I each have pending requests for July 21, 2021. July 21 is the tenth anniversary of the Space Shuttle’s final mission, but it is also the 70th birthday of Robin Williams, the occasion for which I wrote dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).  Peacemaker67 had also requested April 12 for a Yugoslavian battleship.  While we have many ship and space flight TFAs, we have precious little medical content to feature on the main page.  Medical TFAs are disadvantaged in that they rarely have an important date connection, much less one as significant as a milestone birthday for Robin Williams. I am hoping that both  and  will be amenable to supporting a compromise to permit this medical diversity on the mainpage, paving the way for Wikipedia to offer a tribute to Robin Williams on July 21, and recognizing his tragic death due to DLB, which will be a hot topic on the date of his 70th birthday.  See Robin's Wish.
 * Support as nominator. Sandy Georgia (Talk)  02:37, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Support April is always a bit busy with Yugoslavian articles because of the April 1941 invasion (I actually have Yugoslav ship noms lined up for 1 and 17 April as well as 12 April), and I think this would be a better choice for the reasons SG outlines, but particularly the rationale regarding diversity of subjects on the main page. I'll look for an alternative date to nominate Yugoslav monitor Drava, maybe next year. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 03:40, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Support (recuse as coordinator, not my month anyway). The 40th anniversary seems more significant than the July date. It would also allow me to offer Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins for July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the first Moon landing, while the topic is still relatively fresh.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:21, 17 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Support My vote would be for July 8, 2021 (10th anniversary of the STS-135 launch) but I'm fine with whatever comes of this. Balon Greyjoy (talk) 14:18, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Support I agree with Sandy, how medicinal articles on the main page are very rare compared to battles and ships, music artists and albums, unbisasly video games, etc. Granted, this might be due to the fact that medical info can very always be wrong and would look bad for the front page, but I know that Sandy does here share of hard work on these topics it makes me wonder why she wasn't the editor of the week a long time ago. P  anini 🥪 12:35, 26 February 2021 (UTC)