The events of this past week were certainly a tragedy, however make no mistake that the space program as well as the current shuttle program will continue, at least for the short term.
It is unfortunate that it takes an event like the one we saw on Saturday to initiate a public dicussion on the direction of the space program. Dispite the naysayers most people involved in the space program would relish such a publish debate. Most of the members of the NASA family share a sense of civic duty, and believe that our primary goal is to serve the American public. NASA, like any other human endevour has it's flaws, but we are always looking for ways to improve.
So what changes if any should be made to improve the space program? Some say we should develop a new launch vehical to replace the shuttle fleet. NASA has been trying to develop additional human and cargo launch capability, however each proposal has been canceled right before the development of an operational prototype. The reasons for this are complex, but they include a general engineering tendancy to choose proven sub-optimal technology over unproven technology, and the fact that the prototype phase is the most risky part of space craft development. Development of an operational prototype involves investment of a significant amount of money at a higher risk of failure. In addition, there really is no large public or political will to replace the current shuttle system. Therefore it becomes very hard for NASA Administrators to justify such programs.
Some have suggested getting rid of the human element in spaceflight. In my opinion this would also be a serious mistake. Once we eliminate human flights, we lose precious knowledge and experiance that would allow us to eventually establish profitable space industries, outposts, and colonies. While, these ideas certainly sound like science fiction, NASA still considers such human endevours as the long term goals of the space program.
As for the commercialization of space flight, I know of no conspiracy to retain a NASA monopoly. In fact many NASA employies would welcome such development of the comercial space industry. While NASA employies do hold the belief that no one can do spaceflight safer or more reliably then NASA, this is merely a reflection of the pride they have in their work, and not (as is often said) a commentary on the disadvantages of space commercialization. The real reason for the lack of commercial investment in space comes from the inherent high risk of working in space. Space flight is a exceptionally high cost, high risk, and low tolerance endevour: not the kind of thing you want to base profittable a bussiness around. Every day NASA and other space agencies are developing new technology to make space flight cheaper, safer, and more error free, so that it will become easier to comercialize space. Experiance shows us that knowledge gained in space today, will translate into commercialization tommorow.
To see a practical example of this we need only look at the colonization of the America's. The first few steps were taken by government funded expiditions. It wasn't until more 100 years after Columbus landed, that the comercialization of the new world by private industry took place. Why did this occur? Originally, getting to the Americas was a costly and risky bussiness. Commercialization wasn't possible, and indeed did not take place, until the Europeans had gained enoough experiance and knowledge about the new world to make it commercially feasible to go there. Similarly, once we have gained significant knowledge and experiance about space, commercialization will occur.
So what direction should NASA take? That really should be up to you, the people NASA is chartered to serve. Do you want to see efforts dedicated to a perminately manned space station? Do you want a mission to mars? Increased manned or cargo launch capability? Development of next generation propulsion technology? None of these things will happen without signifigant political and public will. Most importantly, be excited about the space program. Find out all of the great stuff NASA does for you. You'd be supprised to learn that NASA plays a role in everything from yout daily weather report, to the produce you buy at your local market, to the velcro you use to fasten your shoes. Right yout congressman, your senator, your president. Tell them what you think NASA should be doing. Don't wait for an event like this recent tragedy to focus on the space program.
Slashdot Mirror
So open access rules now apply to this spectrum.
:-)
Happy Hacking
The events of this past week were certainly a tragedy, however make no mistake that the space program as well as the current shuttle program will continue, at least for the short term. It is unfortunate that it takes an event like the one we saw on Saturday to initiate a public dicussion on the direction of the space program. Dispite the naysayers most people involved in the space program would relish such a publish debate. Most of the members of the NASA family share a sense of civic duty, and believe that our primary goal is to serve the American public. NASA, like any other human endevour has it's flaws, but we are always looking for ways to improve. So what changes if any should be made to improve the space program? Some say we should develop a new launch vehical to replace the shuttle fleet. NASA has been trying to develop additional human and cargo launch capability, however each proposal has been canceled right before the development of an operational prototype. The reasons for this are complex, but they include a general engineering tendancy to choose proven sub-optimal technology over unproven technology, and the fact that the prototype phase is the most risky part of space craft development. Development of an operational prototype involves investment of a significant amount of money at a higher risk of failure. In addition, there really is no large public or political will to replace the current shuttle system. Therefore it becomes very hard for NASA Administrators to justify such programs. Some have suggested getting rid of the human element in spaceflight. In my opinion this would also be a serious mistake. Once we eliminate human flights, we lose precious knowledge and experiance that would allow us to eventually establish profitable space industries, outposts, and colonies. While, these ideas certainly sound like science fiction, NASA still considers such human endevours as the long term goals of the space program. As for the commercialization of space flight, I know of no conspiracy to retain a NASA monopoly. In fact many NASA employies would welcome such development of the comercial space industry. While NASA employies do hold the belief that no one can do spaceflight safer or more reliably then NASA, this is merely a reflection of the pride they have in their work, and not (as is often said) a commentary on the disadvantages of space commercialization. The real reason for the lack of commercial investment in space comes from the inherent high risk of working in space. Space flight is a exceptionally high cost, high risk, and low tolerance endevour: not the kind of thing you want to base profittable a bussiness around. Every day NASA and other space agencies are developing new technology to make space flight cheaper, safer, and more error free, so that it will become easier to comercialize space. Experiance shows us that knowledge gained in space today, will translate into commercialization tommorow. To see a practical example of this we need only look at the colonization of the America's. The first few steps were taken by government funded expiditions. It wasn't until more 100 years after Columbus landed, that the comercialization of the new world by private industry took place. Why did this occur? Originally, getting to the Americas was a costly and risky bussiness. Commercialization wasn't possible, and indeed did not take place, until the Europeans had gained enoough experiance and knowledge about the new world to make it commercially feasible to go there. Similarly, once we have gained significant knowledge and experiance about space, commercialization will occur. So what direction should NASA take? That really should be up to you, the people NASA is chartered to serve. Do you want to see efforts dedicated to a perminately manned space station? Do you want a mission to mars? Increased manned or cargo launch capability? Development of next generation propulsion technology? None of these things will happen without signifigant political and public will. Most importantly, be excited about the space program. Find out all of the great stuff NASA does for you. You'd be supprised to learn that NASA plays a role in everything from yout daily weather report, to the produce you buy at your local market, to the velcro you use to fasten your shoes. Right yout congressman, your senator, your president. Tell them what you think NASA should be doing. Don't wait for an event like this recent tragedy to focus on the space program.