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02-06-2003, 10:27 PM
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Freedom and Survival
By James Pinkerton 02/04/2003
In the wake of the Columbia tragedy, the arguments of the pro-space constituency are strong, but not strong enough. If space advocates can't bring themselves to make the most powerful arguments of all—that space is vital to human freedom, even to human survival—then their cause will falter as the soaring spirit of heroism and martyrdom fades, and as the counter-arguments of the cost-benefiting, bean-counting critics gain footing.
To be sure, the weekend was a time for both paying tribute to lost astronauts and offering exhortation for future astronautics. Space, said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, is "important to us as Americans and as adventurers." Declared Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, to Fox News, "We must push back the frontiers of knowledge." And, most poignantly, first-American-to-orbit-the-earth John Glenn told CNN, "I'd go back tomorrow if I could." For the time being, those pro-space affirmations—oftenti mes couched in such solemn language as, "The greatest tribute to the men and women of Columbia would be to carry on their work"—will dominate the debate.
But already, the skeptics and faultfinders are being heard. Here, for example, is a report from Sunday's Manchester Guardian: "Fears of a catastrophic shuttle accident were raised last summer with the White House by a former NASA engineer who pleaded for a presidential order to halt all further shuttle flights until safety issues had been addressed." And here's a headline atop a cutting article in the new Time magazine: "The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped: It's costly, outmoded, impractical and, as we've learned again, deadly." Soon enough, more details and anecdotes—true or not—will come dribbling out, depicting reckless errors and fatal mistakes. Indeed, one can half-expect a report from France to proclaim that the "accident" was staged by the Pentagon at the direct order of President George W. Bush.
we will need space to be free. Second, we will need space to survive as a species (http://www.techcentralstati on.com/1051/defensewrapper.jsp?P ID=1051-350&CID=1051-020403A)
Freedom and Survival
By James Pinkerton 02/04/2003
In the wake of the Columbia tragedy, the arguments of the pro-space constituency are strong, but not strong enough. If space advocates can't bring themselves to make the most powerful arguments of all—that space is vital to human freedom, even to human survival—then their cause will falter as the soaring spirit of heroism and martyrdom fades, and as the counter-arguments of the cost-benefiting, bean-counting critics gain footing.
To be sure, the weekend was a time for both paying tribute to lost astronauts and offering exhortation for future astronautics. Space, said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, is "important to us as Americans and as adventurers." Declared Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, to Fox News, "We must push back the frontiers of knowledge." And, most poignantly, first-American-to-orbit-the-earth John Glenn told CNN, "I'd go back tomorrow if I could." For the time being, those pro-space affirmations—oftenti mes couched in such solemn language as, "The greatest tribute to the men and women of Columbia would be to carry on their work"—will dominate the debate.
But already, the skeptics and faultfinders are being heard. Here, for example, is a report from Sunday's Manchester Guardian: "Fears of a catastrophic shuttle accident were raised last summer with the White House by a former NASA engineer who pleaded for a presidential order to halt all further shuttle flights until safety issues had been addressed." And here's a headline atop a cutting article in the new Time magazine: "The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped: It's costly, outmoded, impractical and, as we've learned again, deadly." Soon enough, more details and anecdotes—true or not—will come dribbling out, depicting reckless errors and fatal mistakes. Indeed, one can half-expect a report from France to proclaim that the "accident" was staged by the Pentagon at the direct order of President George W. Bush.
we will need space to be free. Second, we will need space to survive as a species (http://www.techcentralstati on.com/1051/defensewrapper.jsp?P ID=1051-350&CID=1051-020403A)