Monday, July 03, 2006

Third Time's A Charm?


The space shuttle Discovery had another launch scrubbed again this weekend. NASA officials are now hopeful that the shuttle will lift off on Tuesday, the fourth of July. It would be quite appropriate for America's space program to return to the stars on her birthday. I for one am hopeful that the mission is successful. From childhood I have been a fanatic of air and space related things. I had feverent hopes that by the time we reached the 21st century that space travel would have been closer to reality than it currently is. Still, the continued delays and the constant push to meet launch deadlines highlight some of the failings of our current program.

The space shuttle is an aging ship, still operating past what was supposed to be a limited lifespan. Seemingly following the old adage, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' we continue to use these shuttles. However, it is time to invest in newer technology that will be cheaper, and easier to maintain. We have the technology we just lack the funding. Interest in space seemingly waned shortly after the Apollo missions that took us to the moon came to an end. It seems that most of the public is content that our explorations of the stars be limited to the adventures on the movie or TV screen.

At one time, President Bush made overtures about landing a man on the moon again and then on to Mars. Again there was varied support. Bush's timing of his statement couldn't have come at an odder time. With the economy not on level ground, it seemed ill-advised to suddenly invest billions in a new high-risk space adventure. It is something that we need to pick up on but we need to take steps. Establishing the space station was the first step. It takes far less fuel and energy to get to the moon or Mars when you're already in space. So, let's continue to support the space station. In addition, let's come up with a new space shuttle system that will be easier to work with than what we currently have.

The continued problems or issues that are coming up with the current attempts to launch Discovery shows that while the system works, it is not free of flaws that can help question the safety of the fleet. In space travel, there are no guarentees and no constants. One launch varies from the next and because a sensor fails today doesn't mean that it will fail tomorrow. That is something we need to understand. Foam will fall. When something shakes and rattles as much as the shuttle, there is bound to be something falling off. We must continue our quest into the stars, we must reach the moon again...and then onwards to Mars.... and beyond.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home