The Good: First private commercial space launch is a success! A SpaceX Falcon rocket put a Malaysian communication satellite into orbit. Three cheers for the New Space Age!
The Bad: NASA now says they're planning to close down and deorbit the International Space Station in 2016. What the heck? I thought this was supposed to be a permanent (or at least long-term semi-permanent) outpost in space. Why spend years building something if you're just going to drop it in the ocean? What the HELL are they thinking?
I'm a NASA fan from way back. I still think Apollo 11 is the greatest accomplishment of the 20th century, if not all of human history. But news like this makes me think that maybe, just maybe, the agency has lost its way and outlived its usefulness. If getting government funding for space exploration requires the kind of compromises we've seen over the past two or three decades, I find myself wondering if it's really worth it at all. For a long time the argument was, "Sure, NASA's not perfect, but they're the best we've got." I've made that argument myself. But if they're now doing the equivalent of digging $100 billion dollar holes in space and filling them up again, then they're not the best, not by a long shot. We'd be better off if space exploration goes back to being the preserve of eccentric billionaires, crusty old drunken astronauts, and spunky teenagers.
Decisions like this one are caused by the same thing that caused the first shuttle disaster: politics running a scientific program. As long as most of our commons budget goes to waging war (and "defense") and non-scientists get to make choices about scientific priorities, this kind of exploration will continue to be subject to a two-steps-forward-one-step-back type of progress at best.
Posted by: ML | July 19, 2009 at 02:58 PM
One problem with that analysis: most of our budget doesn't go to defense. It goes to domestic spending, which is to say, taking money from some citizens in order to reward others. The appetite for that is bottomless, and there are no voters in space.
Posted by: Cambias | July 20, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Science and space theme presented with nice ideas and concepts.
Posted by: Teeth Whitening Blackpool | September 08, 2009 at 09:29 AM