posted 04-22-2012 09:12 AM               

America rarely retreats from a new frontier. Yet today we can't even do what John Glenn did in 1962, let alone fly a circa-1980 shuttle.

posted 04-22-2012 09:25 AM               

In his gloomy Washington Post commentary today on yesterday’s ceremony transferring ownership of the Space Shuttle Discovery from NASA to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Charles Krauthammer urged readers to think of that transfer as the funeral for U.S. leadership in space. Nothing could be further from the truth.

posted 04-22-2012 09:57 AM               

Yet what they were witnessing, for all its elegance, was a funeral march.

The shuttle was being carried — its pallbearer, a 747 — because it cannot fly, nor will it ever again. It was being sent for interment. Above ground, to be sure. But just as surely embalmed as Lenin in Red Square.

Museums aren't graves and to suggest such is an insult to the Smithsonian and many other fine public institutions that preserve our history.

The space shuttle program was going to come to an end at some point. Whether it was 2011 or 2020, the orbiters were going to be museum-bound, as they are now. The timing doesn't influence the role the museums play.

Further, and perhaps more egregiously, it is a rather tone deaf analogy given that two shuttles did in fact put 14 astronauts in real graves. I'm about as enthusiastic a defender of the shuttle as there is, and yet it's inescapable that the shuttles were never inherently safe to fly.

But if Krauthammer is determined to use the funeral analogy, then he has the order of events wrong. The funeral, if indeed there was one, was last August, when the shuttle program came to an end. The burial was when the division within NASA that was the Space Shuttle Program ceased to be.

Discovery's final flight and its induction into the Smithsonian? That was, to use an overtly religious reference in deference to Krauthammer, the resurrection.

Before leaving Washington, I visited the Udvar-Hazy to see Discovery on display and marveled at the crowds that had come out to see it. These weren't uninterested museum goers, they were engaged spectators. They had come to see Discovery, but more so they came to learn.

I had intended my final visit on this trip to be a private one; just some time to reflect on my own past experiences with Discovery but I found myself in the middle of an impromptu Q&A session with other visitors. Their questions ranged from the history of the vehicle to the future of space exploration.

posted 04-22-2012 10:46 AM               

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Further, and perhaps more egregiously, it is a rather tone deaf analogy given that two shuttles did in fact put 14 astronauts in real graves. I'm about as enthusiastic a defender of the shuttle as there is, and yet it's inescapable that the shuttles were never inherently safe to fly.

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Now shifting gear... Krauthammer's article was well written, and I think it reflects the mood of the country quite well. America's space program is (was?) a symbol of what is great about America. Now that leadership decisions (blame whomever you want) have resulted in America no longer being able to launch astronauts into space, Bolden's pronouncements ring hollow at the moment for some.

Does NASA still have a lot going on? Sure. And maybe someday, America will have a manned launch capability to be proud of. I hope so. Still, I think the article did a good job of capturing a nation's feelings toward the retirement of Discovery to the Smithsonian.

Just a while after Discovery's arrival in DC, I landed at Washington-Reagan Airport. I asked lots of folks there during my layover if they had seen the shuttle fly over, and most had — they stopped what they were doing at the appointed time. Most had an emotional response... many said they "had a tear in their eye", or that it "felt like a funeral watching it fly by".

A scientific study on my part? No. Just the observations of random folks in our capitol. But I think Krauthammer captured those feelings quite well.

I especially liked his paragraph from Krauthammer's article regarding the Chinese:

China goes for the glory. Having already mastered launch and rendezvous, the Chinese plan to land on the moon by 2025. They understand well the value of symbols. And nothing could better symbolize China overtaking America than its taking our place on the moon, walking over footprints first laid down, then casually abandoned, by us.

posted 04-22-2012 11:41 AM               

He clearly accepts a Chinese moon landing by 2025 as realistic. Why? Because they "understand well the value of symbols." Is that all it takes?

If so, what symbol does he need to accept NASA's current goal of going beyond the moon by the same date? A spacecraft being designed and built? A congressional mandate for a heavy lift rocket? A president stating numerous times we should go?

posted 04-22-2012 03:55 PM               

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
While a launch capability is important, it has never been used to define a human spaceflight program (reference ESA's, JAXA's, and CSA's astronaut corps).

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posted 04-22-2012 04:56 PM            

I also understand that the SSMEs are very expensive and can be used elsewhere, and that hypergolics and humans don't mix well.

But then I read Charlie Bolden's reply and it put things into perspective for me. I have great respect and admiration for Mr. Bolden. His job is not an easy one, especially with limited funding, but I think he does a heck of a job and I'm glad he's at the helm of NASA.

Watching the 60 Minutes piece a few weeks ago about all those KSC folks losing their jobs really saddened me, as does the fact that we were not able to transition into another program for manned space flight immediately. But it's beyond my personal control.

posted 04-22-2012 05:57 PM               

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Originally posted by Fezman92:
A seven year gap?

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posted 04-22-2012 07:15 PM               

We have no launch capability. But there is hope in the Boeing spacecraft system and the ATK Liberty launch system. Maybe even SpaceX, who has a huge goal to achieve this month.

Krauthammer lost his creditability based upon his prior column the derided the shuttle a few years ago. You cannot have it both ways.

In the end, we will get back in space, because when other countries move ahead, then the public will demand that we do so too.

If the public outcry doesn't happen, then we are done as a spacefaring nation.

posted 04-22-2012 07:45 PM               

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Originally posted by Larry McGlynn:
If the public outcry doesn't happen, then we are done as a spacefaring nation

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posted 04-22-2012 08:10 PM               

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Originally posted by Hart Sastrowardoyo:
It was six years between ASTP and the first flight of Columbia, the ALT flights notwithstanding.

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If we had a lunar base set up in 1975, there would never had been any gap, because there was no one else to rely on to supply and support it. America would have found a way, having made the commitment.

Today is much different. We conceived the Freedom space station. We led the development, and invited friendly countries to participate in a great endeavor. The Clinton Administration then revamped the entire thing to have Russia involved in it, but we were still the "prime contractor", as it were, for ISS.

posted 04-22-2012 08:34 PM               

I was in D.C. throughout the week, and there was nothing but very positive energy all around town with the arrival of Discovery. I will try to post some of my experiences in the appropriate thread, but the overall feel I got all week was one of a celebration.

The flyover of Washington was absolutely awe-inspiring. This was one of the most spectacular, impressive flying displays I have seen in my life, to include shuttle launches and landings. The entire city (Democrats and Republicans alike) stopped and looked up. When is the last time that happened for something good?

If you have the chance to see either of the last two ferry flights, don't pass it up.

Hundreds of school kids, including mine, stayed home to come see it, and that is something they will never forget. The atmosphere at the exchange ceremony was incredible, and will go down as probably the biggest day in the museum's history. It was said several times during the day that Discovery was ending one mission, but beginning another, to inspire our youth to do bold things, and to teach our engineers how to design things better by allowing them access to real hardware.

Discovery looks and feels entirely different in that hangar than Enterprise did. It has the look of a spacecraft that has been there! I told Robert when I ran into him yesterday that when you're in there you feel like you're on the runway right after the Wheels Stop. It is truly awesome.

There were so many people in that museum this week to see her that I don't think the number will ever be topped. Yesterday, the crew hatch was open (we could see inside the mid-deck) and the support crew was all over the ship caring for her like they always have, except now with a huge audience. The high balconies that angle across in front of the hangar were crammed with visitors all day.

So I don't know where this writer was when he conceived this comparison to a funeral. He must have missed what I saw. I'll admit that the one and only time I had a thought that "that's it...it's all over" was when the shuttle came to a final stop in the hangar. It lasted all of five seconds. The rest of the day I was smiling ear to ear.

posted 04-22-2012 09:29 PM               

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Originally posted by 328KF:
During those years, we had no destination, no critical need for transportation of crew and supplies.

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NASA had considered sending an early shuttle mission to reboost the United States' first space station, with additional flights aimed at upgrading and expanding Skylab.

Ultimately, the shuttle ran into technical delays while increased solar activity resulted in increased atmospheric drag, shortening Skylab's on-orbit (unassisted) lifespan from 1983 to 1979.

posted 04-23-2012 11:07 AM               

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Originally posted by ilbasso:
It just occurred to me that even between ASTP and the first Shuttle flight, the US did have vehicles capable of putting us into space again if necessary.

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posted 04-23-2012 11:32 AM               

I spoke to Bill Pogue some time ago about using the CSM as a re-boost of the Skylab workshop. He stated that they had looked at that but that the CSM SPS was not an engine you could throttle so the concern was whether the multiple docking adaptor could take the instantaneous thrust of the SPS output without collapsing.

posted 04-23-2012 12:14 PM               

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Originally posted by APG85:
We are now relying on commercial companies to step up and provide the next generation of vehicles (huge difference than being directly contracted by the government/NASA as in past programs).

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posted 04-23-2012 09:00 PM               

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Originally posted by Fra Mauro:
One reason is that eventually, private business will only explore for profit.

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posted 04-23-2012 09:06 PM               

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Originally posted by Fra Mauro:
...private business will only explore for profit.

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There has never been a U.S. spacecraft that wasn't built for profit.

posted 04-24-2012 12:08 PM               

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Originally posted by Rusty B:
For instance, after more than 50 years, how much private (commercial vs government funded) exploration is going on in Antarctica?

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posted 04-25-2012 02:11 PM            

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Museums aren't graves and to suggest such is an insult to the Smithsonian and many other fine public institutions that preserve our history.

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Thanks, Robert, for saying this. Just as the Apollo 9 command module continues its mission as an educational and interpretive tool here in San Diego, Discovery is going to raise awareness of the shuttle program's incredible feats for generations to come at Udvar-Hazy.

posted 04-25-2012 05:37 PM               

And along those lines, here are some more folks who apparently "just don't get it." And another guy y'all might recognize who apparently "just doesn't get it."

posted 04-25-2012 09:06 PM               

Bemoaning that decision now, as if it was something that just happened, when eight years ago some of the same commentators stayed quiet (or in some cases endorsed the decision, if not outright called for it) seems to me crying over the milk that they helped spill.

But that's really besides my point.

With all due respect, in my opinion, those who think museums are grave sites, metaphorically or not, really don't get it. The metaphor is flawed, and I'll repeat, an insult to those charged with caring for the artifacts from our history.

I thought my response to comparing the Smithsonian to a grave site would have resonated with those who even have a passing interest in space history, regardless of political persuasion or even if the feeling was that the items in the museums have become history too soon.

posted 04-26-2012 08:30 AM               

First of all, no one is bemoaning the shuttle program cancellation decision in 2004 (as far as I can tell). If I recall correctly, Project Constellation was in progress at the time — subsequent decisions have altered that reality, and THAT's what people seem to be bemoaning — not the cancellation of Constellation, per se, but the perceived lack of a coherent strategy and vision.

Clearly, making points back and forth on this issue is a pointless exercise. Supporters of NASA's current direction remain firmly convinced that our space program and our nation are on the right path, and skeptics of the current path are aware of the facts (despite protestations from the other side to the contrary) and remain skeptical.

Honestly, I saw nowhere in either Krauthammer's piece or the other two I posted where anyone said anything remotely like denigrating the position or role of museums. I think some are reading into the article something which is not there.

posted 04-26-2012 08:56 AM               

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Originally posted by capoetc:
What other metaphor would you suggest he should use to describe how watching Discovery circle around DC before landing seemed or felt to give the same impression as a funeral procession for the US manned space program?

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