We Sent Men To The Moon
The United States is the only nation on earth that has sent men to the moon. But in two years we will be reduced to paying the Russians to keep us in space, just as the International Space Station becomes fully operational. The US will have no heavy launch capability whatsoever until 2015 at the earliest.
Tomorrow night, a European spacecraft is scheduled to blast off from French Guiana on its maiden voyage to the international space station, giving NASA and the world a new way to reach the orbiting laboratory.For NASA, however, the launch of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) also highlights a stark reality: In 2 1/2 years, just as the station gets fully assembled, the United States will no longer have any spacecraft of its own capable of carrying astronauts and cargo to the station, in which roughly $100 billion is being invested. The three space shuttles will be retired by then, because of their high cost and questionable safety, and NASA will have nothing ready to replace them until 2015 at the earliest.
For five years or more, the United States will be dependent on the technology of others to reach the station, which American taxpayers largely paid for. To complicate things further, the only nation now capable of flying humans to the station is Russia, giving it a strong bargaining position to decide what it wants to charge for the flights at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are becoming increasingly testy.
In addition, some fear the price will be paid not only in billions of dollars but also in lost American prestige and lost leverage on the Russians when it comes to issues such as aiding Iran with its nuclear program.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin calls the situation his "greatest regret and greatest concern." For most of the five-year gap, he said, "we will be largely dependent on the Russians, and that is terrible place for the United States to be. I'm worried, and many others are worried."
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), chairman of the subcommittee that oversees NASA, went further. "This is a very serious betrayal of American interests," he said. "This will be the first time since Sputnik when the United States will not have a significant space superiority. I remain dumbfounded that we've allowed this serious threat to our national security to develop."
If the space budget were increased by about $2 billion annually, the gap could be shortened by about two years. The is also an option for SpaceX, the private company to get manned flight operational by 2011 - although they have yet to orbit anything. Read it all, it isn't a pretty picture.
How did we get here? Myopia of the political sort. Looking at glad-handing tax money away on pork barrel projects instead of the long-range interests of the nation itself. Washington should be ashamed - both parties, all branches of government.
We sent men to the moon once. Too bad our politicians have their heads stuck firmly in the earth. Or someplace else.
By martian, Friday, 7 March , 2008 @ 3:25 pm
Our government leaders should be ashamed of themselves that our space program has come to this. It’s inexcusable!