The Shuttle Program Ends… as Does America’s Space Leadership

My Opinion: We were “The Man” when it came to space exploration. We rocked the house in 1969 when we put men on the moon. But budget cuts at NASA, and general lack of interest in the dream of space exploration by the public has pretty much doomed our space leadership as a nation. It is a shame. President Kennedy gave us a lofty goal to achieve back in the 60s, and we met his timetable of putting a man on the moon and returning him safely before the decade of the sixties was out. I was (and am) a “space geek!” I love the space program. I have been to Cape Kennedy, Houston, and Huntsville, and seen all the achievements in the museums. I have watched shuttles lift off while in Florida, not on TV, but “in the flesh!” I have been to the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, and seen the artifacts of our dream on display there.

But a chapter ends with this last Space Shuttle mission. Yes, the Shuttle is old, dated, and tired. But, it is all we had. Now, even that will be gone. I guess we leave it to other countries to continue the dream. If we had visionary leadership here again… but… sigh. We don’t. Sad.

So, I will be watching tomorrow as the last Shuttle leaves the pad… I wonder who else will even notice?