Houston, we have liftoff!

Well, after 2 1/2 years of modifications and upgrades to the shuttle fleet, reworkings of launch and flight procedures, as well as months of delays, the Space Shuttle is finally flying again! See NASA's coverage of the flight at the link above.

Among the many new features of the shuttle, there are cameras mounted on various locations of the external tank and the shuttle orbiter itself to catch as many different aspects of the flight, in order to keep an eye out for safety hazards. Because of these cameras, there will be footage of the flight taken which no one, not even NASA, has seen before. Check it out at the website!

Now, of course, because of all the concern over safety, costs, etc. regarding the space shuttle, there are, as always, those who question the value of the space program. They believe that human space flight is simply too dangerous, too costly, and too little of a return on investment to be worthwhile, and that the money spent on space travel should be spent elsewhere.

Here is my viewpoint:
Yes, the shuttle is costly to operate, very complicated, rather prone to problems. It is, after all, 24+ years old. I think it is time to retire the shuttle, and replace it with a new means of putting people into orbit. This is already in NASA's plans for the future. It could be a new expendable launch vehicle, which, it seems to turn out, is actually cheaper and easier to operate than a reusable system like the shuttle. Although technically, the shuttle is actually a hybrid of expendable components (the external tank) and partially (solid rocket boosters) and fully (shuttle orbiter) reusable components. The new launch system could also be a partially reusable system like the shuttle, though obviously having newer technology and (one would hope) being significantly easier to operate.

No matter what the future manned space flight system will be, I firmly believe there should be one. The value of space exploration, both robotic and manned, is at once abstract and concrete. It is abstract in the sense that it fulfills humankind's fundamental instinct for exploration and discovery, for expanding our horizons, and for becoming greater than ourselves. The day we cease to explore is the day we cease to be fully, and magnificently, human. It is also concrete in terms of the revolutionary technologies that continue to be developed, both directly and indirectly, thanks to the space program. Any endeavor in which you strive to "push the envelope" of technology, you WILL have breakthroughs and innovations. If you need proof, simply look at the cell phone on your hip, the tempered glass in your car, and the memory foam mattress on your bed (if you have one yet... we actually have them in the capsule beds on alert - they're pretty sweet!)

Pres. Bush, whether you like him or not, has set the goals for this nation to complete the space station, return to the moon - for good - and continue on to Mars. After all, if the United States doesn't do it, China will. Guaranteed. And while that's great, cuz at least somebody will be doing it, has America as a society become sooo pathetic that we'd rather concern ourselves with "who's hooking up with whom" on whatever lame-ass reality show happens to be big at the time, or who we vote for on American Idol, than give a crap about continuing to be a world leader in space exploration? Would we rather leave it to the Chinese, or even, the Russians? I wonder what the crews and family members of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia would think...