Last week I was witness to history, as I watched the Space Shuttle Disovery launch for the final time. It brought back a lot of memories of my childhood fantasies of wanting to being an astronaut, playing with models of the space shuttle and going to the Kennedy Space Center America America wants to send an astronaut to space, it will have to do so aboard Russia
The space shuttle first launched in 1981, when NASA sent the Columbia
In 2004, George Bush announced plans to return to the moon by 2015, complete the International Space Station and retire the Space Shuttle in 2010. He also announced plans for something called Project Constellation. The idea was to establish an extended presence on the moon (which would reduce the costs of further space exploration), to develop and test new technologies and systems, and to begin a sustainable course of long-term exploration. One proposed mission was to a near-earth asteroid, which would represent a critical step forward in a manned mission to Mars. Project Constellation also intended to land humans on Mars in the 2030s.
President Obama recently determined that Project Constellation was over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation. In 2010, he announced some lofty goals for NASA: the development of heavy-lift launch vehicle by 2015, an asteroid mission in 2025, and a Mars mission in the 2030s. Basically, he reiterated the same goals as his predecessor, but he cancelled funding for Project Constellation. To his credit, the cost was estimated to be $230 billion through 2025 and the country is going through hard times. Many people do not see space exploration as a priority. But how much has he spent on healthcare reform, bailouts, and the stimulus package? I for one do not see those as a priority either!
I hope that NASA can recapture the mystery and magic that millions felt as they watched the Apollo missions on TV in the 60s and 70s. Space exploration needs to remain a priority of the American people. Here’s why America
“Two centuries ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St. Louis to explore the new lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase . They made that journey in the spirit of discovery, to learn the potential of vast new territory, and to chart a way for others to follow.
Yet for all these successes, much remains for us to explore and to learn. In the past 30 years, no human being has set foot on another world, or ventured farther upward into space than 386 miles -- roughly the distance from Washington , D.C. to Boston , Massachusetts America America
That was said by none other than George Bush. Regardless of how you feel about President Bush (there’s plenty he did that I didn’t care for), you cannot deny the logic of this statement!
Canceling Project Constellation is a huge mistake. President Obama is denying future generations a source of innovation, knowledge, and national pride. I would not be surprised if mankind does in fact land a human on Mars in my lifetime. I will also not be surprised if that person is not American. Thank President Obama.
Of course, there are those who strongly support Obama’s plan:
“Cancellation was therefore simply a matter of time and thankfully we have a president with the political courage to do the right thing sooner rather than later. We can ill afford the expense of an “Apollo on steroids,”…A lesser president would have waited until after the upcoming election cycle, not caring that billions more dollars would be wasted. It was disappointing to see how many in Congress did not possess this courage” – Elon Musk.
Of course Mr. Musk is the CEO of SpaceX, which is a private corporation that stands to earn billions of dollars as US
Obama’s high-profile critics include Neil Armstrong, Commander of Apollo 11 and first man on the moon, Jim Lovell, Commander of Apollo 13, and other famous astronauts. Their critiques include:
-we will have wasted ten plus billion dollars already invested in Constellation
- we will have lost many years required to recreate what we will have didcarded
- The US
-The Obama plan calls for NASA to spend $100 billion over 10 years in order to accomplish nothing
- Obama called for sending a crew to an asteroid by 2025. had he not canceled Constellation, we could have performed such a mission by 2016. While calling for such a flight, he is actually terminating the programs that would make it possible.
- One of the primary goals of our space program has always been about maintaining US access to space and maintaining US
The retirement of the space shuttle program this year marks the end of an era. I sincerely hope that this only means that it is the beginning of a new one … but it’s not looking too good so far.
