Several sources in the last day or so, especially today (including hearing a rant by Tony Kornheiser on his radio show, saying we shouldn't be exploring space right now, especially with multiple wars on-going, etc.) with the news that the Shuttle (actually they are "orbiters", not "shuttles", but that is NASA's nit to pick) program is again on hold because of problems with the foam insulation that is believed to have been the cause of the last major NASA disaster in the "shuttle" program.
Unfortunately, even with a layoff of over 2 years, and even with much re-engineering, the shuttle team has been unable to eliminate the 'threat' of the foam insulation that surrounds the external fuel tank from potentially impacting the relatively fragile orbiter's wings or other important surfaces.
The ranting of people like Kornheiser, and the editorials of some (including, if memory serves, an editorial in the Washington Times, but I could be wrong on the source, so please don't hate on the Times if it wasn't their opinion) that complain that going to the moon, and then later onto Mars is a waste and should be abandoned.
These people are wrong. Period. End of sentence. Fact.
We must keep exploring space, though it will never be completely safe to do so, and it will also never be cheap enough for some that would rather spend money on cash give-aways here on Earth. Kornheiser is no fan of the Bush admin. He was 'in the tank' for John Kerry all the way baby. Tony K. still can't figure out how a complete moron like George W. Bush can be President. Tony K. is one who rants on the failings of others, complains because someone doesn't respect Mr. Tony and give him all of the hand-outs that a hollywood star and their entourage would expect, and then turns down heart felt requests to show up at a charity event, instead choosing to maybe toss a few dollars of disposable tax-deductable charitable contributions away instead. He'd much prefer to toss money into taxes to be used to handle all of the worlds needs so that the elites could feel like they've accomplished something without really having to do anything.
Tony K.'s a big fan of Dylan, the Stones, U-2, and many other preachy, folksy groups and artists, even though they don't particularly fit the "old guy radio" image of artists like the Drifters, the Byrds, and others that Tony K. can rant on about because he grew up hearing them.
Yet, even as Tony K. ranted on, he was reminded by his co-host that back in the days of the original space race that no less than John F. Kennedy told us:
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency.
When reminded that we spent hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars going to the moon in the middle of the Vietnam war, I suppose Tony K. paused slightly, but it's hard to tell as a radio listener.
He seemed to go back to his point quickly that we are -- in his opinion -- wasting money on a space station that is not really doing anything, and we are wasting money going into space at all and should instead spend money on other priorities, including armor for troops, and more.
Far be it from me to say that we shouldn't be spending money on armor for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. We can and should be doing that, but we also should be doing "these other things" of going to the moon, and beyond.
Like the editorial I read (which made me both angry and sick at the same time), there are those out there that think that money spent on space exploration is wasted, and that we can not afford to spend money on those things while other priorities exist.
Well to those people I say shut up. The amount of money we spend currently on NASA is a pittance. It's so ridiculously low it's pathetic. There've been charts comparing the spending on Iraq and Afghanistan against NASA's budget. NASA gets pennies while the wars get big dollars. Again, I don't wish to take away from the efforts in the war on terror, and the fighting to stablize Iraq and Afghanistan, but a few pennies on the dollar going to keeping our technical development at the top of it's game is not enough.
There are problems (unfortunately) with the space program, especially the shuttle program. We must devise better technology so we can get back on track, but at the same time, we have to build better rockets, and develop better means of exploring space. The shuttle never quite lived up to the plans of serving as a great mover of equipment and people into space and back. It was sadly undersized, and required external gadgetry such as the problematic fuel tank to be able to get it (and it's cargo) weight off the ground and into orbit. Many may not even remember what a Saturn V rocket looked like, with the tiny Apollo capsule on top. It was a huge beast. It took those massive lower stages to get the lift needed to get the rest of the beast into the sky.
As always, mass and fuel (which is part of the mass) and good old gravity continue to be our own worst enemies when it comes to space travel, but we can not give up. We have to keep going, and we must set goals -- such as going back to the moon, and on to Mars, so that we can accomplish them. So we will have an end game. So there will be an exit strategy (so that some will not be able to cry for one repeatedly). And we must meet those goals and go onto bigger and better challenges. It's our destiny and our duty.
