Freedom 7, May 1961: America's first manned
space excursion. This September, America will
launch its last manned space mission.
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In the wee hours of Saturday morning at 4:39 am, mission STS-130 will be launched aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor. It will be Endeavor’s next to last flight. Between now and September, Saturday’s launch will be one of the five final Space Shuttle missions all designed to finish the build out of the International Space Station. Atlantis has one more flight, STS-132 in May. Discovery flies with missions STS-131 in March and the final Shuttle flight STS-133 tentatively set to launch on September 16th. Endeavor makes its last flight in July.
When Discovery touches down at the end of its mission, that’s it, the end of manned space missions from the United States. What started with great fanfare with Alan Shepherd’s first flight in May of 1961 will evaporate with a whimper almost 50 years later. Considering the last lunar mission was in December, 1972, most of the fireworks all took place in the first twelve years of the program. While surely a space station in continuous operation has its scientific and technological merit, it is a far cry from that which we are capable of developing. Further, considering that which was originally planned and how much has been compromised, the station is only a glimmer of what could have been.
With the Obama administration not funding Project Constellation and the Ares Rocket program which just recently launched its first test missile, all manned space efforts on the part of NASA will be over with no provisions to go further. Constellation was the mission to guide us into the future with earth orbit and lunar missions in the planning stages to set the stage for bolder missions beyond.
Now what is there to look forward to? With the delivery of the huge volumes of the trillions of dollars in the proposed Federal Budget, a conspicuous devil in the details was waving the white flag and surrendering America’s lead as the premier space program in the world. Russia has always had a major stake in space exploration from the days of Sputnik in 1967. Over the past three decades, the European Union has developed its own highly advanced space program. Now Communist China has launched astronauts into space and has an ever more sophisticated space program developing including working on satellite killer vessels which could knock other countries’ spacecraft right out of the sky. Having become the third nation to independently launch men into space with a space station in the works and satellite missions to Mars and behind, China is well on its way to becoming a major force in outer space.
Japan and India are moving forward with ambitious space programs. While Japan has no current plans for ambitious manned space flight, they are aggressively moving into a wide range of scientific, research, and communications applications. India likewise has an ambitious satellite program including the ability to deploy multiple satellites from one launch and placing spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. Indian manned space missions could come as soon as 2014-15.
These are examples of countries using rocket technology toward those enterprises we consider the noble exploit of space exploration; however, as the United States and Soviet Union were fully engaged in pursuing, these same technologies are the basis of their arms race as well. Both North Korea and Iran, two of the most dangerous nations on the planet have ambitious rocket programs. Nothing good can come from them being able to launch craft into orbit but it makes their ability to develop an ICBM program capable of launching nuclear missiles a certainty.
Has our nation become so complacent that we no longer appreciate why our leadership in the space race was so important in the first place?
Our nation was so shocked and terrified when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957 then quickly launched a second satellite only weeks later on November 3, 1957. Quickly, American found itself caught off-guard and there was a mad clamor to boost America’s commitment to science and technology education. Amidst numerous failures, the United States first satellite, Explorer 1, atop a Juno 1 rocket, that was a beefed up Redstone rocket, a larger and beefed up missile developed from the German V-2. It was hardly a significant space worthy rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral 52 years ago, on February 1, 1958.
America scurried about to get a meaningful space program going while the Soviets marched on , Yuri Gagarin was launched on Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961. America’s first launch would come just days later on May 5, but Freedom 7’s flight was only a suborbital short flight up and down for Alan Shepherd while the Soviets already accomplished orbit. The first US flight, Friendship 7 would come the following year on February 20, 1962.
Through the rest of the decade, the United States gained the lead in space it would never surrender resulting in man’s landing on the moon by July, 1969, but quickly our ambitions soured and our nation became to rest on its laurels. For four decades from the 1970’s to right now, no nation has gone beyond our level of accomplishment, but now it’s just a matter of time.
Remember this date, February 1, 2010, 52 to years to the date after America’s first successful satellite launch, our President destroyed our celestial vision of going where no one has gone before to wallow in meaningless sidesteps while our vision goes blind and our march to the future retreats.
Today marks a huge turning point in world history. Few will recognize it today, but what will it take for us to recognize what’s at stake?
We’re only months away from when Iran will have successfully tested its first nuclear weapon. They’re working on bigger and more powerful missiles. The time is coming soon when they will be able to place nuclear warheads atop missiles. Which reminds us: President Obama already opted to curtail an anti-missile program which would stage intercept missiles in Poland.
Scientific advancement and national defense go hand-in-hand. Each one supports the other. In a dangerous world with Islamic extremism sworn to destroy us, with energy and environmental needs we cannot successfully address, our nation’s ability to visualize our purpose in preparing for the future and committing the resources to do so have been severely clouded by myopic vision too stuck on the immediate here and now.
Bold dreams and giant steps are what the American Dream is made of. It’s time to dare to dream again lest our current Obama nightmare continue.
When Discovery touches down at the end of its mission, that’s it, the end of manned space missions from the United States. What started with great fanfare with Alan Shepherd’s first flight in May of 1961 will evaporate with a whimper almost 50 years later. Considering the last lunar mission was in December, 1972, most of the fireworks all took place in the first twelve years of the program. While surely a space station in continuous operation has its scientific and technological merit, it is a far cry from that which we are capable of developing. Further, considering that which was originally planned and how much has been compromised, the station is only a glimmer of what could have been.
With the Obama administration not funding Project Constellation and the Ares Rocket program which just recently launched its first test missile, all manned space efforts on the part of NASA will be over with no provisions to go further. Constellation was the mission to guide us into the future with earth orbit and lunar missions in the planning stages to set the stage for bolder missions beyond.
Now what is there to look forward to? With the delivery of the huge volumes of the trillions of dollars in the proposed Federal Budget, a conspicuous devil in the details was waving the white flag and surrendering America’s lead as the premier space program in the world. Russia has always had a major stake in space exploration from the days of Sputnik in 1967. Over the past three decades, the European Union has developed its own highly advanced space program. Now Communist China has launched astronauts into space and has an ever more sophisticated space program developing including working on satellite killer vessels which could knock other countries’ spacecraft right out of the sky. Having become the third nation to independently launch men into space with a space station in the works and satellite missions to Mars and behind, China is well on its way to becoming a major force in outer space.
Japan and India are moving forward with ambitious space programs. While Japan has no current plans for ambitious manned space flight, they are aggressively moving into a wide range of scientific, research, and communications applications. India likewise has an ambitious satellite program including the ability to deploy multiple satellites from one launch and placing spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. Indian manned space missions could come as soon as 2014-15.
These are examples of countries using rocket technology toward those enterprises we consider the noble exploit of space exploration; however, as the United States and Soviet Union were fully engaged in pursuing, these same technologies are the basis of their arms race as well. Both North Korea and Iran, two of the most dangerous nations on the planet have ambitious rocket programs. Nothing good can come from them being able to launch craft into orbit but it makes their ability to develop an ICBM program capable of launching nuclear missiles a certainty.
Has our nation become so complacent that we no longer appreciate why our leadership in the space race was so important in the first place?
Our nation was so shocked and terrified when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957 then quickly launched a second satellite only weeks later on November 3, 1957. Quickly, American found itself caught off-guard and there was a mad clamor to boost America’s commitment to science and technology education. Amidst numerous failures, the United States first satellite, Explorer 1, atop a Juno 1 rocket, that was a beefed up Redstone rocket, a larger and beefed up missile developed from the German V-2. It was hardly a significant space worthy rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral 52 years ago, on February 1, 1958.
America scurried about to get a meaningful space program going while the Soviets marched on , Yuri Gagarin was launched on Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961. America’s first launch would come just days later on May 5, but Freedom 7’s flight was only a suborbital short flight up and down for Alan Shepherd while the Soviets already accomplished orbit. The first US flight, Friendship 7 would come the following year on February 20, 1962.
Through the rest of the decade, the United States gained the lead in space it would never surrender resulting in man’s landing on the moon by July, 1969, but quickly our ambitions soured and our nation became to rest on its laurels. For four decades from the 1970’s to right now, no nation has gone beyond our level of accomplishment, but now it’s just a matter of time.
Remember this date, February 1, 2010, 52 to years to the date after America’s first successful satellite launch, our President destroyed our celestial vision of going where no one has gone before to wallow in meaningless sidesteps while our vision goes blind and our march to the future retreats.
Today marks a huge turning point in world history. Few will recognize it today, but what will it take for us to recognize what’s at stake?
We’re only months away from when Iran will have successfully tested its first nuclear weapon. They’re working on bigger and more powerful missiles. The time is coming soon when they will be able to place nuclear warheads atop missiles. Which reminds us: President Obama already opted to curtail an anti-missile program which would stage intercept missiles in Poland.
Scientific advancement and national defense go hand-in-hand. Each one supports the other. In a dangerous world with Islamic extremism sworn to destroy us, with energy and environmental needs we cannot successfully address, our nation’s ability to visualize our purpose in preparing for the future and committing the resources to do so have been severely clouded by myopic vision too stuck on the immediate here and now.
Bold dreams and giant steps are what the American Dream is made of. It’s time to dare to dream again lest our current Obama nightmare continue.
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